Banana Ground’s Twenties Bar holds breath for Thompson

The small community of Banana Ground, Manchester, where double Olympic champion Elaine Thompson hails from was anxious to see her perform once again on the world stage, at the IAAF World Championships in Doha, Qatar. Evidence of her success is visually documented around the neighbourhood, from the street named after her, to the wall painted in her image with another Olympian, Nesta Carter, who also hails from Banana Ground.

In a small bar called Twenties, close to the square, persons were in the middle of an intense game of bingo while they waited for the start of 100m final.

Before the main event, the 4x400m mixed relay final got under way and the five persons there at the time turned their attention from their bingo sheets to the screen, cheering on the team to a silver medal, the nation’s second medal at the championships, and with hopes for more later in the afternoon.

As it got closer to the final’s start time of 3:20 p.m., more persons started to trickle into Twenties with patrons already making predictions. Unsurprisingly, the majority were backing Thompson to secure victory. Two persons, however, broke ranks, giving her compatriot and three-time World champion Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce her fourth title.

One man was adamant that despite Thompson’s form in the heats, and the semi-finals, that she was conserving her energy for the final. The TV analyst seemed to agree with his assessment.

With rainfall and the fog gliding through the hills, all eyes turned towards the screen. The tension of the moment being felt from Doha.

The bar leaped into cheers at the start of the race, willing Thompson towards line. Fraser-Pryce accelerated into the lead, with Thompson desperately chasing down Great Britain’s Dina Asher-Smith and Marie Josee Ta Lou of the Ivory Coast.

In the end it was Fraser-Pryce who got the glory, winning her fourth World title in a world leading 10.71 seconds. Banana Ground’s own, was kept off the podium, finishing fourth in 10.93 seconds.

Pryce’s brilliant run was celebrated inside Twenties, although they were disappointed that their hometown girl didn’t get the finish they wanted.

Bar owner, Jem, was expecting Thompson to win but is nevertheless confident of her chances in the 200m.

“She has done it before and she will do it again,” she said.

Thompson competes in the women’s 200m first round today starting at 9:05 a.m.