WATCH: Kishane Thompson races with specially-abled runners to motivate them at Meeting Ligano's Special Olympics Race

Jamaican athlete Kishane Thompson was recently spotted racing against specially-abled runners at the Meeting Ligano's Special Olympics Race. The 22-year-old’s undertaking was intended to motivate the participants in the competition. Thompson, the current men’s 100m world leader, has gained the limelight for his noble gesture before competing at the Paris Olympics 2024.

Kishane Johnson has been setting impetus to emerge as the finest 100m runner. In 2023, he impressed with his 9.91s performance at the Jamaican national trials in the heats round. That year, Johnson made his Diamond League debut in Monaco with a fifth-place finish at 10.04 seconds. Later, he improved his timing to grab second place at the Xiamen Diamond League with 9.85s.

Moreover, in June 2024, Johnson turned heads with his scintillating performance at the Jamaican Olympics Trials, scoring a world lead of 9.77s in the 100m race.

Besides Kishane Johnson’s soaring 100m performances, he also managed to appear at the Special Olympics Race in Lignano, Italy. With an intent to boost the specially-abled runners, Johnson joined them at the competition.

An X (formerly known as Twitter) video shows Johnson generously curbing his speed while running on the track.

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Kishane Thompson opens up on being ‘signaled out’ at the Jamaican Olympics Trials 2024

Kishane Thompson at Prefontaine Classic: Day 1 - Diamond League 2023

Kishane Thompson’s terrific performance at the Jamaican Olympics Trials has put him as a favorite for the Olympic gold medal. However, Thompson’s conquest at the trials was faced with intervention by doping officials just after he clocked 9.82s in the 100m race heats.

In a recent interview with Nationwide, Thompson opened up about being held back for too long by Doping Control at the championship. He said,

"As soon as I finished the race, I saw the doping officers...It was nearby and they said, 'Hey Kishane, I selected you for doping', and I said 'Excuse Me?' I didn't understand coz this is just the heats...." [via NationwideRadio]

Furthermore, he added that the officials chose him randomly after his 9.82s performance in the heats.

"I asked them, '....How do you go about this? I thought it is just the finals, coz I understand it is about the finals. They said, "No, I randomly choose you in terms of what I saw....how effortlessly I ran that [9.82 seconds], I PBd, and I didn't compete this season, so you look suspicious I guess".

Unflashed by the interrogation, Kishane Thompson managed to clock the world lead of 9.77s in the finals. Nevertheless, other reputed athletes like Oblique Seville and Ackeem Blake finished second and third with their respective timings of 9.82 and 9.92 seconds, respectively.