Jamaica’s Elaine Thompson-Herah, the national women’s 100-meter record holder, is one of the 17 female athletes chosen as brand ambassadors for Christian Dior, the prestigious, luxury fashion house. Thompson-Herah is the only athlete from the Caribbean to be included on Dior’s list.
Thompson-Herah’s path to sprint stardom
Elaine Thompson-Herah was born in 1992 in the Parish of Manchester and is considered one of the greatest sprinters of all time. She began her career as a runner competing for Christiana High School and Manchester High School. In 2015, she won a silver medal in the 200 meters at the World Athletics Championships, the fifth-fastest woman in history over that distance. She first came to international attention at the 2016 Olympics in Rio, becoming the first woman since 1988 to win gold in both the 100-meter and 200-meter events. She then defended both of those titles at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics. The six-time Olympic medalist passes a major milestone in her career with her first partnership with an international Dior fashion house. She already has deals with sportswear brand, Puma, and the Caribbean telecommunications firm, Flow.
Dior’s own “dream team”
In what Dior has labeled its “Dream Team,” the fashion house is preparing for the 2024 Paris Olympics and Paralympic Games by creating a list of the top female athletes in the world, including Jamaican Olympian and sprint star, Elaine Thompson-Herah, “the fastest woman alive.” The other athlete ambassadors include American soccer star Alex Morgan, Hawaiian surfer Carissa Moore, Australian swimmer Emma McKeon, Japanese fencer Misaki Emura, French boxer Estelle Mossely, French judoka Clarisse Agbégnénou, Italian fencer Alice Volpi, French skateboarder Louise-Aina Taboulet, Romanian-born Italian Paralympic fencer Andreea Mogos, French gymnast Melanie de Jesus dos Santos, Italian fencer Arianna Errigo, Italian Paralympic fencer Beatrice Vio Grandis, Italian Paralympic fencer Loredana Trigilia, French Paracyclist Marie Patouillet, Australian Paralympic tennis player Pauline Deroulede, Italian fencer Rossella Fiamingo, and French fencer Sara Balzer.
Honoring these top athletes
To celebrate the achievements of these amazing athletes, Dior will display their portraits at the brand’s flagship venue, Le Café Dior in La Galerie Dior, from July 24 to September 9. A statement from Dior emphasized that the portrait exhibit honors the “surpassing performance” of the athletes and “an invitation to continually push the boundaries of creativity in the name of passion and freedom.”
Photo Courtesy of Dior
