“Kishane Thompson was very shy, very bashful”- Justin Gatlin opens up about his thoughts on the Jamaican Olympic medalist's life after fame

Justin Gatlin spoke about Paris Olympics medalist Kishane Thompson's way of dealing with fame and popularity after the quadrennial games. The American athlete revealed how Thompson avoids the limelight and remains steadily focused on his goals as he aims to dominate the circuit in the future.

Thompson came up as one of the top competitors for the Olympic podium after his incredible performance in the Jamaican Olympic Trials. He put forward a great fight for the Olympic gold medal in the men's 100m finals and lost to USA's Noah Lyles by five-thousandths of a second in a thrilling battle at the Stade de France earlier this year.

Since his incredible performance, the Jamaican's popularity skyrocketed worldwide. Justin Gatlin spoke about Kishane Thompson in the latest episode of his podcast 'Ready Set Go' along with Rodney Green. The American athlete revealed how Thomspon chooses to be away from the limelight most of the time and lauded him for his focus on his appearances in future events.

“He's the mystery man, but I'm starting to believe that Kishain wants it that way. And he said it himself. He's really not a chatty, chatty type of guy, like who's in the limelight. He says, when people see him and ask some of the bit**es, he's like, I understand it,” he said.

“It was funny watching him in Jamaica and just going around, just doing normal things, going to get, you know, at Key and Salt Fish and then him getting recognized. And then fans come up to him and say, man, I've been rocking with you since 2021. You know what I mean? Like true fans, right? And the look on his face is like, me? Like, what? Like, I appreciate it. Thank you. You know what I mean? I even remember, I mean, Asafa told us he was like that. Like he was very shy, very bashful,” he added.

Justin Gatlin on Kishane Thompson's loss to Noah Lyles at the Paris Olympics

Justin Gatlin - Day 2 - 17th IAAF World Athletics Championships - Source: Getty

Justin Gatlin spoke about the photo finish at the Paris Olympics in the men's 100m in his podcast 'Ready Set Go'. The American athlete gave his take on Thompson losing out on the gold medal to Noah Lyles by a whisker.

"Kishane has yet to finish a full 100m from what we have seen this season and I’m not saying this because I don’t want to see him finish, it’s because it actually affects your central nervous system. If you’re pushing your body to run full speed to 80m and then you shut it down and slow down to the finish line, and you’re constantly doing it, muscle memory takes control,” he said.

Furthermore, he expressed that Thompson had done a great job dealing with the nerves of performing on such a global stage for the first time.