Is Elaine Thompson-Herah doing the right thing by splitting with her coach? She may be making the biggest mistake of her life and these three reasons supports it.
With less than a year before the start of the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, it has been confirmed that Elaine Thompson-Herah has parted ways with coach Shanikie Osbourne.
The double Olympic champion started training under the guidance of coach Osbourne after failing to make the Jamaican individual team to the World Championships in Budapest.
23:45 - 14.11.2023
Elaine Thompson-Herah fires subtle jab at haters after alleged split from coach Shanikie Osbourne
Double Olympic champion sends message to haters and smiles afterwards with a fatigued picture.
Shortly after this, their relationship started blossoming as Thompson-Herah made a late-season comeback, blazing to new Season's Best's (SB) of 10.92s and 10.84s in each of her races after Budapest, and eventually ended the season with a blistering 10.79s to place third at the Prefontaine Classic Eugene Diamond League.
Despite the end-of-season progress, Thompson-Herah and coach Osbourne couldn't agree on a compensation package, leading to their separation.
The fastest woman alive may be making a big mistake with this and here's why.
1 - Hindered progress in training
Most elite athletes have begun training for the upcoming season, mapping out their plans and perfecting the lapses in having a memorable 2024 Olympic year.
The split will slow down her progress in training and put her in a different space mentally because of the distractions.
07:57 - 08.11.2023
Who is the GOAT? Comparing Elaine Thompson-Herah, Florence Griffith-Joyner, and Fraser-Pryce
Elaine Thompson-Herah, Florence Griffith-Joyner, and Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce have done well in their careers, such as having multiple records and medals at the Olympics or World Championships level, which now makes them frontiers on the GOAT list.
It may take longer for Thompson-Herah to recover from this, especially because she'll need to start working with a new coach, and that's almost equal to mapping out her training all over again, resulting in more time lost. As it is on the track, every second is very delicate in a sprinter's life.
2 - Possibility of jeopardizing an Olympic history
Thompson-Herah is on the brink of Olympic history by becoming the first female sprinter and second behind Usain Bolt to win three consecutive sprint titles.
The five-time Olympic champion has done the 'Double Double' twice at the Rio 2016 and Tokyo 2021 games, and now she has a chance of making it a three-peat in Paris.
Considering how her 2022 and 2023 season was plagued with injuries and inconsistencies due to a change of coach in late 2021, before her late surge after Budapest, she has to avoid a repetition heading into arguably the most important career year of her life.
Working with coach Osbourne looked like the perfect solution to her struggles through the years and readiness to stamp her name in the history books, but with the latest news, that Olympic dream may slip through her hands.
3 - Longevity requires consistency
The best athletes in the world have worked with a single coach for the longest period of their careers because these coaches were part of their discovery from raw into refined talents and understand their body mechanics better than anyone else.
Often, athletes who change coaches feel the effects of this inconsistency in their bodies, which makes them susceptible to injuries and slows down their progress toward reaching their maximum potential.
20:04 - 14.11.2023
Elaine Thompson-Herah disrupts the internet with fire pictures of her beauty
Double Olympic champion Elaine Thompson-Herah isn't stopping anytime soon when it comes to sharing gorgeous pictures on the internet.
Thompson-Herah felt this after moving on from the MVP track club under the tutelage of coach Stephen Francis and started training with her husband Derron Herah in 2021.
Until the couple understood it wasn't working out as they expected after the 2023 Jamaican trials before she started training with coach Osbourne, two years of her career had already been unutilized maximally.
To avoid repetition, Thompson-Herah needs to find a permanent solution and get a perfect coach like she did with coach Francis. If not, the 31-year-old may not reach the full potential that has put her in the conversation of ending her career as the Greatest Of All Time.
In conclusion, with the news being confirmed of her separation from coach Osbourne, Thompson-Herah has to find the right coach as soon as possible that'll be the perfect match to actualize her Paris Olympic dream and beyond.