Kishane Thompson wins first indoor career race as injury concern is speculated

Jamaican sprint star Kishane Thompson kicked off his indoor season on European soil with an easy 60m victory at the opening World Athletics Indoor Tour Gold meeting in Astana on Saturday, January 25th.

The Olympic 100m silver medallist, who had an outdoor season-opening of 6.48s in Jamaica last weekend, made it through the heat in the Kazakh capital with an obvious struggle in his start and forced in his running. However, it was still enough to take a deserved win in 6.58s.

Thompson will then lower the time in the final to 6.56s for his second victory, but at the cost of a possible injury scare after the race as he needed time to overcome a suspected pain before walking off the track.

His triumph in Astana though not as fast as the track community would have predicted, remains a loud statement to his rivals on his intentions to challenge for every possible title this season.

Meanwhile, hopes of a duel with 2021 Olympic 200m champion Andre De Grasse were denied, as the Canadian had had to make do with a fifth-place finish. Oman’s Ali Anwar Baluchi was second in 6.60s and Japan’s Shuhei Tada third in 6.62s respectively.

In the women's category, Jamaica's sensation Tia Clayton broke the meeting record, clocking 7.18s for a comfortable win ahead of her twin sister Tina, who settled for third in 7.39s behind Portugal's Lorene Bazolo in 7.36s.