For many people, the favorite as well as the lady most wanted her name called on that gold medal Podium was Shelly Ann Fraser Pryce. After a remarkable comeback from having a baby, it seemed like she was destined to cement her legacy further in the women's sprints.

In all these, Elaine Thompson took the time off the spotlight with relative grace. Having done her path by qualifying for the games after placing third in both the 100 and 200 at the Jamaican Trails, it was left to her to prove why she was the defending champion in both the 100m and 200m from Rio. Certainly no pushover herself, her performances in the individual sprints would've left even her most fervent of believers in disbelief.

Peaking at the Right Time

We got a sneak peak of what Elaine was capable of doing in one of the final meets before the games, at the Continental Tour in Hungary where she clocked a meet record of 10.71 seconds to win, and perhaps most importantly - to beat Shelly Ann Fraser Pryce in the 100m event. That did draw some attention to her but none could've envisaged what she had in store at the games.

Thompson has struggled with her form since her Olympic Triumph in 2016. It isn't that she hadn't been consistent, rather it has been an inability to impose dominance in an event where she was compared to a certain Usain Bolt after her double Olympic Triumph in 2016. She has never won an individual gold medal at the World Championships for instance, and failed to medal at the last two championships. At a point, it seemed like she was going to rank amongst those 'one season wonders' who could not really live up to their potential.

This Olympics triumph though has changed all that. It isn't just the victory that was important, but the manner of victory and indeed who she beat. She triumphed in a field that included Shelly Ann Fraser Pryce and won in devastating fashion, setting an Olympic record of 10.61 seconds in the 100m and 21.53 seconds in the 200m which is the second fastest time ever run in the distance. These times, only second to Flo-Jo Griffith, might as well be considered a World record owing to the exclusive nature of Flo-Jo's record.

To have suddenly burst into top form so close to the Olympics shows the level of preparation and planning she must've put into the games both physically and mentally. Elaine showed the spirit of a champion by ignoring the hype around her Jamaican compatriots and staying on her grind. Her double Olympic triumph is without a doubt well deserved.

What's Next

I reckon an individual World Championship gold medal would be on the cards for her. If she keeps current form heading into Eugene next year, she will be a heavy favorite for Gold. That said though, we all know how fast things can change in the Athletics World. She may lose form, or another athlete may peak around that time. Whether she does get the medal or not though, her legendary status as an all time great is more than secured.