Olivia Grange, minister of culture, gender, entertainment and sport, has declared there was never a doubt that Olympic champion Elaine Thompson-Herah would be voted World Athletics Female Athlete of the Year.

“We expected it,” Grange said in reaction to the announcement this afternoon.

“This nation is so happy for Elaine and proud of her for winning the top award for women in track and field for 2021. But she put her hands up with her performances in the Olympics and World Games. In fact, she has enjoyed one of the finest sprint seasons in history, retaining her 100m and 200m titles in 10.61 seconds and 21.53 seconds in Tokyo as well as adding another gold medal to her collection in the 4x100m relay, which she and her colleagues won in national record time of 41.02 seconds.”

Grange added: “Elaine did not just stop there; in her first race after the Olympics, she won the 100m in a world leading time of 10.54 seconds which makes her second on the all-time list for the 100m and 200m.

“It is so great, Elaine now makes it a trio of Female Athletes of the Year for Jamaica; following in the footsteps of Merlene Ottey and Shelly Ann Fraser Pryce.

“We Salute Elaine Thompson-Herah. She is just awesome!”