The fastest woman alive, Elaine Thompson-Herah has dismissed recent claims that she plans to depart from the MVP Track Club.
Yesterday, reports surfaced that Thompson-Herah, the Olympic sprint double champion, had written a letter to the club informing them of her decision to cut ties with her longtime coach, Stephen Francis. There were also reports that she would be coached by her husband, Derron Herah, going forward.
Elaine addressed the claims on the NBC magazine show Brother From Another, saying they were just rumors.
“You know what the news media is like; I am the fastest woman alive, so they are going to try to create some form of news to try and distract the world. It’s rumours, of course. I have seen articles in the media [saying] that I have died… it’s always rumours. They always target me, I don’t know why,” she said.
When asked how she thought the rumors started, Thompson-Herah said her recent absence from training may have caused a stir.
“Probably, because I have not shown up for practice. I am still on my rest period [but] people might be speculating why she is not in practice. But we just came back from the international circuit and we normally get about a month’s rest and I am in my second week, so people are just assuming things and spreading rumours,” the athlete said.
Thompson-Herah added: “The media always trying to create drama; I am on my rest until October.” She also suggested that the media might have misheard something and had run with it.
Famed track coach, Stephen Francis had guided Thompson-Herah’s career since 2014.
The 29-year-old Thompson-Herah just wrapped the best season of her career so far, where she created history by becoming the first woman ever to retain an Olympic sprint double title. She also clocked 10.54 seconds to win at the PreFontaine Classic in August, the second-fastest time in history, and then later, won her Diamond League title.
