Five-time Olympic champion Elaine Thompson-Herah, who missed out on the Paris Games due to an Achilles tendon tear, said she is using her first season back after a 20-month rehabilitation process as a stepping stone as she looks to return to her best.
The 33-year-old Jamaican, who became the first woman to win back-to-back Olympic sprint doubles when she retained her 100m and 200m titles in Tokyo in 2021, returned to competition earlier this year.
"It's been a rough one, mentally, but I've overcome that," Thompson-Herah told reporters on Friday ahead of competing at the World Athletics Relays in Botswana as part of the Jamaican women's 4x100m team, which she helped to take gold at the Tokyo Olympics.
"It's nice to be back on the track. I ran two 60s, a 100-metre, just to feel where I'm at. No pain... I don't think I'm where I want to be yet. I'm being patient with myself."
Thompson-Herah said she was looking forward to defending her titles at the Commonwealth Games in July, having taken gold in 100m and 200m in the previous two editions, as she continues building up to her third Olympic appearance.
"I'm just using this season as a stepping stone. A recovery, a fun one. I'll just go out there, have fun, run some races, get some medals... defend my title at Commonwealth Games, of course," she said.
"Once the pain is gone, Elaine is capable of doing anything."