Richard Thompson Muddies Commonwealth Predictions All To Hell

Jamaica, right? That's where the winner of the Commonwealth Games' men's 100 meters should come from. Enter Richard Thompson, of Trinidad and Tobago, who has now cast serious doubt of a Jamaican champion.

Thompson, competing in his national championships yesterday, ran a world-leading 9.82 seconds. It was a national record, besting his own mark set in 2011, and it's a Commonwealth-leading time by more than a tenth of a second. As it stands right now, Thompson has the whole of Jamaica sprinting excellence on straight rout.

There have been enough great sprinters from TTO to call it consistent—color commentator Ato Boldon, a four-time Olympic medalist, held the national record prior to Thompson—but never a powerhouse. That title really belongs to the U.S. and Jamaica, and only Jamaica is eligible to compete in the CG, which start on July 23.

And while it's true that Jamaica will have her own championships next weekend, where we may see Thompson's lead shrink or even disappear, he can no longer be written off as we approach Glasgow 2014. And that's something no one saw coming.