The 2004 Olympic champion praised Kishane Thompson’s season opener as a strong indicator of his potential, despite his narrow loss to Akani Simbine.
The 2004 Olympic 100m champion, Justin Gatlin, is impressed with Kishane Thompson’s impressive outdoor season opener.
Despite losing the men’s 100m to Akani Simbine at the Diamond League Meeting in Shanghai, Justin Gatlin remains unbothered about the Olympic 100m silver medallist.
Kishane Thompson managed a second-place finish, crossing the finish line in an impressive 9.99 seconds behind Akani Simbine, who won the race in 9.98 seconds.
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Kishane Thompson narrowly lost to Akani Simbine in his first outdoor 100m race of the season in Shanghai, China last weekend, making it only his fourth ever Diamond League race.
Why Justin Gatlin is impressed with Kishane Thompson
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Olympic 100m silver medallist Kishane Thompson Photo. File
Kishane Thompson has always traditionally opened his season at later dates, but his competition at the Diamond League Meeting in Shanghai came as a surprise to many.
The Jamaican sprint king also surprised the masses by clocking under 10 seconds in the race, something that caught the attention of former world champion Justin Gatlin.
Gatlin believes that it was just the beginning of something great, since it was his first outdoor race since his exit from the Paris Olympic Games.
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“I’m proud of Kishane, man, he opened up his season sub 10, looked good, now it’s about just getting better and better along the way for Kishane but Akani is handling business,” Justin Gatlin said on the Ready Set Go podcast.
Kishane Thompson taking a different approach this season
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Kishane Thompson. Image source: Imago
Kishane Thompson has had a history of injury, hence avoiding many races before major competitions, but the script is slowly changing, starting this season.
In 2024, he encountered a tough loss to Noah Lyles, missing the Olympic gold in the 100m by just five thousandths of a second, after they both clocked 9.79 seconds.
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After the Olympic Games, Kishane Thompson was forced to withdraw from the Diamond League Meeting races he had signed up for and end his season prematurely.
In 2025, Kishane Thompson started his season indoors, competing at the Central Hurdles Relays and Field Events before winning the 60m race at the Astana Indoor Meet for Amin Tuyakov Prizes.
As he gears up for the World Championships in Tokyo, Japan, fans should prepare to see Kishane Thompson on the starting line more often.
