The Jamaican government acknowledged Elaine Thompson-Herah’s hard work. She was recently presented with a diplomatic passport to add to the Order of Distinction, Commander Class she received in October.
“I strongly believe in acknowledging hardworking and dedicated Jamaicans,” noted Jamaican Prime Minister Andrew Holness.
“In October, we honoured Elaine with the Order of Distinction, Commander Class. Today (7 Dec), I officially handed over her diplomatic passport as another way of tangibly recognising her talent and impact.
“I encouraged her to continue inspiring this generation and representing Jamaica at the highest level.” wrote Holness on his social media page.
“Elaine, Jamaica is proud and appreciative of all you’ve done to elevate global athletics and our national brand,” the Prime Minister added.
Elaine Thompson-Herah, also on social media, wrote, “Always have an attitude of gratitude.”
She thanked Prime Minister Andrew Holness and Sports Minister Olivier Grange for her diplomatic passport.
The presentation came a week after Elaine Thompson-Herah was named the World Athletics Female Athlete of the Year. She produced one of the finest sprint seasons in history this year by retaining her Olympic 100m and 200m titles in Tokyo.
She beat compatriot Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce to the 100m gold in Tokyo. She held off Namibian teenager Christine Mboma to retain her 200m title, repeating the Olympic double she won at Rio 2016.
Elaine Thompson-Herah also clocked 10.54sec over 100m and 21.53sec over 200m to move second on the all-time world rankings behind the late Florence Griffith Joyner, Flo Jo.