Modern Olympian Ode #37 by Michael Ceraolo

 Modern Olympian Ode #37 (2021)  Eleven Seconds to Glory

Eleven seconds would be fast enough

to win you the glory of competing

in the finals of the women's 100-meter dash,

but for the further glory of winning a medal

you would need to be a bit faster,

and the two best bets to win gold

were Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce and Elaine Thompson-Herah

They were each chasing history:

Fraser-Pryce was trying to become

the first woman to win three gold medals in the event,

while Thompson-Herah was going for the double-double:

winning the 100-meter and 200-meter

in consecutive Olympics

Fraser-Pryce got of the blocks faster,

                                                        but

Thompson-Herah came from behind

to win by thirteen-one-hundredths of a second,

breaking the long-standing Olympic record

with the second-fastest time ever

And a few days later she would complete the double-double