Sprinter Elaine Thompson wins 100m wearing trainers - video

Of all the performances at the London Anniversary Games on Sunday, perhaps the most impressive came from Olympic sprint champion Elaine Thompson, who powered to victory in the women's 100m wearing trainers rather than racing spikes.

The Jamaican beat an impressive field, featuring the likes of Dafne Schippers, in 10.94secs.

Her performance was "impressive into a headwind of 1.4 meters and even more so as she was running in cushioned trainers to prevent injury", reports Reuters.

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up

"Spikes are conventionally used to prevent sprinters from slipping on the track and to keep them light on their feet," says the Huffington Post.

"Thompson wore a less prominent version of spikes as the traditional form hurt her Achilles tendon."

Thompson said: "The spikes I have I'm not confident with and hurt my Achilles so I’m running in flats.

"They have spikes but they are very petite. They are built especially for me and made lighter."

YouTube

Watch On

Sir Mo Farah romped home in the 3,000m before launching an attack on the media after the latest round of doping allegations.

He said: "I am sick of repeating myself. You guys are just making something of nothing. I will never fail a drugs test."

A leak from the Russian Fancy Bears hacking group said the British world and Olympic champion had been labelled a "likely" doper by the IAAF in 2015 due to suspicions over his biological passport.

In a later email from April 2016, the IAAF said the results "very recently became 'normal'".

This weekend's event was a rehearsal for the World Championships next month where Farah will be centre stage once again.

"Even the most optimistic watcher recognises that British silverware is likely to be hard to come by next month," says The Guardian.

"The retirement of Jessica Ennis-Hill, coupled with injury doubts lingering over Greg Rutherford's participation means Mo Farah is the only genuine gold medal favourite in the likely team."