The five-time Olympic gold champion, 31-year-old Jamaican, needed to be helped off the track after suffering the injury on June 9 during the New York City Grand Prix.
After opting not to compete in the Jamaica 200-meter trials, Thompson-Herah, who is the only sprinter outside of her native country, Usain Bolt, to win multiple Olympic titles in both the 100- and 200-meter events, was hoping to defend her 100-meter title.
She claimed that her hopes of competing in a third Olympics were dashed by a “small tear on my Achilles tendon”.
“It will take time, but I’m willing to start over, keep working, recover fully, and resume.”
Even though I’m sad and upset that I won’t be at the Olympics this year, sports come first and my health comes first.
The women’s 100-meter gold medal winners at the last four Olympics have been Jamaicans.
Five years after winning gold in the 100 and 200 meters in Rio de Janeiro, Thompson-Herah successfully defended her championships in Tokyo.
Serving on the Jamaican 4x100m relay team earned her a sixth Olympic gold medal in Japan.
