title: Basilica of Saint-Denis

text: During the following centuries, the cathedral was pillaged twice; once during the Hundred Years War (1337–1453) and again during the Wars of Religion (1562–1598). Damage was largely limited to broken tombs and precious objects stolen from the altars and treasury. Many modifications were made under Marie de' Medici and later royal families. These included the construction of chapel adjoining the north transept to serve as a tomb for the monarchs of the Valois Dynasty (later demolished). A plan of circa 1700 by Félibien shows the Valois Chapel, a large mortuary chapel in the form of a domed colonnaded "rotunda", adjoining the north transept of the basilica and containing the tomb of the Valois. and the display of the skeleton of a baleine whale in the nave in 1771. Greater harm was done with the removal of the early Gothic column-statues which Suger had used to decorate the west front. (They were replaced with replicas in the 19th century). In 1700, reconstruction began of the monastic buildings adjacent to the church. This was not completed until the mid-18th century. Into these buildings Napoleon installed a school for the daughters of members of the French Legion of Honour, which still is in operation.


title: Basilica of Saint-Denis

text: Due to its connections to the French monarchy and proximity to Paris, the abbey of Saint-Denis was a prime target of revolutionary vandalism. On Friday, 14 September 1792, the monks celebrated their last services in the abbey church; the monastery was dissolved the next day. The church was used to store grain and flour. In 1793, the National Convention, the revolutionary government, ordered the violation of the sepulchres and the destruction of the royal tombs, but agreed to create a commission to select those monuments which were of historical interest for preservation. In 1798, these were transferred to the chapel of the Petit-Augustins, which later became the Museum of French Monuments.


title: Basilica of Saint-Denis

text: Most of the medieval monastic buildings were demolished in 1792. Although the church itself was left standing, it was profaned, its treasury confiscated and its reliquaries and liturgical furniture melted down for their metallic value. Some objects, including a chalice and aquamanile donated to the abbey in Suger's time, were successfully hidden and survive to this day. The jamb figures of the façade representing Old Testament royalty, mistakenly identified as images of royal French kings and queens, were removed from the portals and the tympana sculpture defaced.


title: Basilica of Saint-Denis

text: In 1794, the government decided to remove the lead tiles from the roof, to melt them down to make bullets. This left the interior of the church badly exposed to the weather.


title: Basilica of Saint-Denis

text: The church was reconsecrated by Napoléon in 1806, and he designated it as the future site for his own tomb and those of his intended dynasty. He also ordered the construction of three chapels to honour the last French kings, created a chapel under the authority of his uncle, Cardinal Fesch, which was decorated with richly-carved choir stalls and marquetry from the Château de Gaillon.(See "Choir Stalls" section below).


title: Basilica of Saint-Denis

text: After Napoleon's downfall, the ashes of the previous king, Louis XVI, were ceremoniously moved from the cemetery of the Madeleine to Saint-Denis. The last king to be entombed in Saint-Denis was Louis XVIII in 1824.


title: Basilica of Saint-Denis

text: In 1813 François Debret was named the chief architect of the cathedral; he preceded, over thirty years, to repair the Revolutionary damage. He was later best known for his design of the Salle Le Peletier, the primary opera house of Paris before the Opéra Garnier in 1873. He replaced the upper stained glass windows in the nave with depictions of the historic kings of France, and added new windows to the transept depicting the renovation, and the July 1837 visit to the Cathedral of King Louis Philippe. On 9 June, the spire of the tower was struck by lightning and destroyed. Debret rapidly put into place a new spire, but he did not fully understand the principles of Gothic architecture. He made errors in his plans for the new structure, which resulted in the spire and tower collapsing under their own weight in 1845.


title: Basilica of Saint-Denis

text: Debret resigned and was replaced by Eugène Viollet-le-Duc, who had the support of Prosper Mérimée, the French author who led campaign for the restoration of ruined Gothic architecture in France. Viollet-le-Duc continued working on the Abbey until his death in 1879, and replaced many of the creations conceived by Debret. Viollet-le-Duc focused on the tombs, rearranging and transforming portions of the interior into a vast museum of French sculpture. In the 1860s Emperor Napoleon III asked Viollet-le-Duc to construct an imperial section in the crypt for him and his dynasty, but he was deposed and went into exile before it was begun.


title: Basilica of Saint-Denis

text: In 1895, when the chapter created by Napoleon was dissolved, the church lost its cathedral rank and reverted to a parish church. It did not become a cathedral again until 1966, with the creation of the new diocese of Saint-Denis. The formal title is now the "Baslilique-cathédrale de Saint-Denis".


title: Basilica of Saint-Denis

text: In December 2016, 170 years after the north tower's dismantlement and following several false starts, the Ministry of Culture again proposed its reconstruction after concluding it was technically feasible—albeit without public funding. An association, "Suivez la flèche" ("Follow the Spire"), chaired by Patrick Braouezec, has since been established to support the reconstruction, with the aim of raising the necessary funds by opening the reconstruction works to the general public, along the model of the Guédelon Castle. In March 2018, the culture ministry signed an accord with the association, officially launching the reconstruction project, with works expected to commence in May 2020. However, as of spring 2021, work had not begun.


title: Basilica of Saint-Denis

text: The west front of the church, dedicated on 9 June 1140, is divided into three sections, each with its own entrance, representing the Holy Trinity. A crenelated parapet runs across the west front and connects the towers (still unfinished in 1140), illustrating that the church front was the symbolic entrance to the celestial Jerusalem.


title: Basilica of Saint-Denis

text: This new façade, wide and deep, has three portals, the central one larger than those either side, reflecting the relative width of the central nave and lateral aisles. This tripartite arrangement was clearly influenced by the late 11th-century Norman-Romanesque façades of the abbey churches of St Etienne It also shared with them a three-storey elevation and flanking towers. Only the south tower survives; the north tower was dismantled following a tornado which struck in 1846.


title: Basilica of Saint-Denis

text: The west front was originally decorated with a series of column-statues, representing the kings and queens of the Old Testament. These were removed in 1771 and were mostly destroyed during the French Revolution, though a number of the heads can be seen in the Musée de Cluny in Paris.


title: Basilica of Saint-Denis

text: The bronze doors of the central portal are modern, but are a faithful reproduction of the original doors, which depicted the Passion of Christ and the Resurrection.


title: Basilica of Saint-Denis

text: One other original feature was added by Suger's builders; a rose window over the central portal. Although small circular windows (oculi) within triangular tympana were common on the west facades of Italian Romanesque churches, this was probably the first example of a rose window within a square frame, which was to become a dominant feature of the Gothic facades of northern France (soon to be imitated at Chartres Cathedral and many others).


title: Basilica of Saint-Denis

text: The chevet, at the east end of the cathedral, was one of the first parts of the structure rebuilt into the Gothic style. The work was commissioned by Abbot Suger in 1140 and completed in 1144. It was considerably modified under the young King Louis IX and his mother, Blanche of Castille, the Regent of the Kingdom, beginning in 1231. The apse was built much higher, along with the nave. Large flying buttresses were added to the chevet, to support the upper walls, and to make possible the enormous windows installed there. At the same time, the transept was enlarged and given large rose windows in the new rayonnant style, divided into multiple lancet windows topped by trilobe windows and other geometric forms inscribed in circles. The walls of the nave on both sides were entirely filled with windows, each composed of four lancets topped by a rose, filling the entire space above the triforium. The upper walls, like the chevet, were supported by flying buttresses whose bases were placed between the chapels alongside the nave.


title: Basilica of Saint-Denis

text: The Porte de Valois, or north portal, was originally built in the 12th century, near the end of Suger's life, then rebuilt at the end of the north transept in the 13th century. According to Suger, the original entrance on the north did not have sculpture, but mosaic, which Suger replaced by sculpture in 1540. It is considered an important step in the history of Gothic sculpture, because of the skill of the carving, and the lack of rigidity of the figures. There are six figures in the embrasures and thirty figures in the voussures, or arches above the door, which represent Kings, probably those of the Old Testament, while the tympanum over the door illustrates the martyrdom of Saint-Denis and his companions Eleuthere and Rusticus. This portal was among the last works commissioned by Suger; he died in 1151, before it was completed.


title: Basilica of Saint-Denis

text: The original sculpture that was destroyed in the Revolution was replaced with sculpture from the early 19th century, made by Felix Brun.


title: Basilica of Saint-Denis

text: The tympanum of the south portal illustrates the last days of the Denis and his companions before their martyrdom. The piedroits are filled with medallions representing the labours of the days of month


title: Basilica of Saint-Denis

text: The nave, the portion to the west of the church reserved for ordinary worshippers, and the choir, the portion to the east reserved for the clergy, were rebuilt into the Gothic style in the 13th century, after the apse at the east and the west front. Like the other Gothic churches in the Ile-de-France, its walls had three levels; large arcades of massive pillars on the ground floor; a narrow triforium or passageway midway up the wall; originally windowless; and a row of high windows the clerestory, above. Slender columns rose from the pillars up the walls to support the four-part rib vaults. As a result of the Rayonnant reconstruction in the triforium was given windows, and the upper walls were entirely filled with glass, which reached upward into the arches of the vaults, flooding the church with light.


title: Basilica of Saint-Denis

text: The chevet had been constructed by Suger in record time, in just four years, between 1140 and 1144, and was one of the first great realisations of Gothic architecture. The double disambulatory is divided not by walls but by two rows of columns, while the outside walls, thanks to buttresses on the exterior, are filled with windows. The new system allowed light to pass into the interior of the choir. The disambulatory connects with the five radiating chapels at the east end of the cathedral, which have their own large windows. To give them greater unity, the five chapels share the same system of vaulted roofs. To make the walls between the chapels even less visible, they are masked with networks of slender columns and tracery.


title: Basilica of Saint-Denis

text: The apse with its two ambulatories and axial chapels was extensively rebuilt in the 12th century, to connect harmoniously with the new and larger nave, but a major effort was made to save the early Gothic features created by Suger, including the double disambulatory with its large windows. To accomplish this, four large pillars were installed in the crypt to support the upper level, and the walls of the first traverse of the sanctuary were placed at an angle to connect with the wider transept.


title: Basilica of Saint-Denis

text: The basilica retains stained glass of many periods (although most of the panels from Suger's time have been removed for long-term conservation and replaced with photographic transparencies), including exceptional modern glass, and a set of 12 misericords.


title: Basilica of Saint-Denis

text: The role of St. Denis as the necropolis of French kings formally began under Hugh Capet (987–996), but the tombs of several earlier kings were already located there. The site was chosen because of its association with St. Denis, the first Bishop of Paris and one of the earliest Christian leaders in France, who was buried there All but three of the monarchs of France from the 10th century until 1793 have their remains here. The remains of some monarchs, including Clovis I (465–511), were moved to St. Denis from other churches.


title: Basilica of Saint-Denis

text: The crypt beneath the church is divided into two sections; the older, called archeological crypt, is located under the transept, and was originally built in about 775 AD, when the abbey was reconstructed by Abbot Fuldiad. It had a disambulatory, passage which allowed pilgrims to circulate around the relics of Saint Denis and his companions on display in the center. It was lit by alternating small windows in the walls and lamps placed in niches.


title: Basilica of Saint-Denis

text: The crypt was rebuilt and extended eastward by Suger. The walls were decorated with blind arches, divided by columns whose capitals illustrate Biblical scenes and scenes from the life of St. Denis. Thirty-nine of the original Romanesque sixty-two capitals are still in place. Sugar constructed a new disambulatory connected with radiating chapels.


title: Basilica of Saint-Denis

text: During the reign of Henry IV, the central portion of this crypt was devoted the Bourbon dynasty, but the tombs themselves were simple lead coffins in wood cases. The effigies of many of the kings and queens are on their tombs, but during the French Revolution their bodies were thrown out of their coffins, dumped into three trenches and covered with lime to destroy them. The older monarchs were removed in August 1793 to celebrate the revolutionary Festival of Reunion, the Valois and Bourbon monarchs in October 1793 to celebrate the execution of Marie Antoinette. Preservationist Alexandre Lenoir saved many of the monuments by claiming them as artworks for his Museum of French Monuments. The bodies of several Plantagenet monarchs of England were likewise removed from Fontevraud Abbey during the French Revolution. Napoleon Bonaparte reopened the church in 1806, but left the royal remains in their mass graves. In 1817 the restored Bourbons ordered the mass graves to be opened, but only portions of three bodies remained intact. The remaining bones from 158 bodies were collected into an ossuary in the crypt of the church, behind marble plates bearing their names.


title: Basilica of Saint-Denis

text: In later years, tombs were placed along the aisles that surrounded around the choir and the nave. In the 13th century King Louis IX (Saint Louis) commissioned a number of important tombs of earlier kings and French historical figures, whose remains were collected from other churches. These included the tombs of Clovis I, Charles Martel, Constance of Castille, Pepin the Short, Robert the Pious, and Hugh Capet (which disappeared during the Revolution). The new tombs were all made in the same style and costume, with a reposing figure holding a staff, to illustrate the continuity of the French Monarchy.


title: Basilica of Saint-Denis

text: The tombs of the Renaissance expressed are theatrical and varied. The largest is that of Louis XII (died 1515) and his wife, Anne of Brittany (died 1514). It takes the form of a white marble temple filled and surrounded with figures. Inside it, the King and Queen are depicted realistically in their dying agonies, Allegorical figures seated around the temple depict the virtues of the King and Queen. On the roof of the tomb, the King and Queen are shown again, kneeling and calmly praying, celebrating their victory over death, thanks to their virtues.


title: Basilica of Saint-Denis

text: The monument to Henry II of France and Catherine de Medici (1559) followed a similar format; a Roman temple, in this case designed by the celebrated Renaissance architect Primatrice with sculpture on the roof depicting the King and Queen in prayer. The King places his hand on his heart illustrating his Catholic faith a period of religious conflicts.


title: Basilica of Saint-Denis

text: In the 19th century, following the restoration of the monarchy, Louis XVIII had the remains of Louis XVI and Marie-Antoinette brought to St. Denis. The body of the Dauphin, who died of illness and neglect at the hands of his revolutionary captors, was buried in an unmarked grave in a Parisian churchyard near the Temple. During Napoleon's exile in Elba, the restored Bourbons ordered a search for the corpses of Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette. They were found on 21 January 1815, brought to Saint-Denis and placed in the archeologi crypt. Their tombs are covered with black marble slabs installed in 1975.


title: Basilica of Saint-Denis

text: Louis XVIII, upon his death in 1824, was buried in the centre of the crypt, near the graves of Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette. The coffins of royal family members who died between 1815 and 1830 were also placed in the vaults. Under the direction of architect Viollet-le-Duc, church monuments that had been taken to the Museum of French Monuments were returned to the church. The corpse of Louis VII, who had been buried at Barbeau Abbey and whose tomb had not been touched by the revolutionaries, was brought to Saint-Denis and buried in the crypt. In 2004, the mummified heart of the Dauphin, the boy who would have been Louis XVII, verified to be authentic by DNA testing, was placed in a crystal vase and sealed into the wall of the crypt.


title: Basilica of Saint-Denis

text: The Sacristy, the room where the clergy traditionally donned their vestments, was transformed by the architect Jacques Cellerier in 1812 into a Neo-classical gallery of murals which depict scenes from the history of the cathedral. A work added to the Sacristy is "Allegory of the Divine Word", a painting by Simon Vouet, which originally had been commissioned by Louis XIII for the retable of the Chateau of Saint-Germain-en-Laye. It was acquired for the cathedral by administration of national monuments in 1993. The wall cases also display a selection of precious objects from the cathedral's collection.


title: Basilica of Saint-Denis

text: Abbot Suger commissioned a large amount of stained glass for the new chevet, but only very small amount of the original glass from the time of Suger survived intact. In the 19th century it was collected by Eugène Viollet-le-Duc, and was integrated into windows in the chevet. Original glass includes the figure of Suger prostrating himself at the feet of Christ, in the window called "The Childhood of Christ"; the Tree of Jesse, illustrating the genealogy of Christ, in the Axis chapel; the "Allegories of Saint Paul" and "The Life of Moses" in the fourth radiating chapel on the north; "The vision of Ezekiel under the sign of tau", originally from a group illustrating the Passion of Christ, in the fourth rayonnant chapel on the south, in the left bay and third register. Another piece of original window from Suger's time, depicting mythical Griffonsa a symbol of Paradise, is found in the second radiating chapel on the north. Other scenes which Suger described, showing the pilgrimage of Charlemagne and the Crusades, have disappeared.


title: Basilica of Saint-Denis

text: Much of the current stained glass dates to the 19th century, as the church began to be restored from the damage of the Revolution. The architect François Debret designed the first Neo-Gothic windows of the nave in 1813. these include the upper windows of the nave, which represent the Kings and Queens of France. Later upper windows of the south transept depict the restoration of the church, and particularly the visit there of Louis Philippe I, the last King of France, in 1837. This large group of windows was designed by the painter Jean-Baptiste Debret, the brother of the architect.


title: Basilica of Saint-Denis

text: The new west front sculpture of St. Denis had an important influence on Gothic style. The influential features of the new façade include the tall, thin statues of Old Testament prophets and kings attached to columns ("jamb figures") flanking the portals (destroyed in 1771 but recorded in Montfaucon's drawings). These were also adopted at the cathedrals of Paris and Chartres, constructed a few years later, and became a feature of almost every Gothic portal thereafter.


title: Basilica of Saint-Denis

text: The statues on the portal of the Valois, on the transept of the Saint Denis, made in 1175, have very elongated and expressive figures, and also had an important effect on Gothic sculpture. They were the opposite of the more restrained and dignified figures of Chartres Cathedral, made about the same time.


title: Basilica of Saint-Denis

text: Above the doorways, the central tympanum was carved with Christ in Majesty displaying his wounds with the dead emerging from their tombs below. Scenes from the martyrdom of St Denis were carved above the south (right hand) portal, while above the north portal was a mosaic (lost), even though this was, as Suger put it 'contrary to the modern custom'. Of the original sculpture, very little remains, most of what is now visible being the result of rather clumsy restoration work in 1839. Some fragments of the original sculptures survive in the collection of the Musée de Cluny.


title: Basilica of Saint-Denis

text: The choir stalls, the seats reserved for the clergy, have particularly fine carvings, particularly on the misericord, the small seat on each stall on which the clergy could rest when standing for long periods of time. The stalls were made in the 16th century, and were originally located in the high chapel of the Chateau de Gaillon in the Eure Department. In 1805 Napoleon Bonaparte decided to create three new chapels at Saint-Denis, as well as a chapter of bishops under the authority of his uncle, Cardinal Fesch. The stalls were moved to Saint-Denis and installed for their use. Besides the carved wood, the stalls are decorated with elaborate multi-coloured religious scenes in marquetry.


title: Basilica of Saint-Denis

text: The organ is located on the tribune, at the west of the nave. An organ is recorded as existing at the basilica in 1520. A later organ, made by Crespin Carlier, is recorded in 1520, but this instrument was destroyed during the French Revolution. The church re-opened in 1806 without an organ. A competition was held in 1833 to find a new builder. It was won by Aristide Cavaillé-Coll, age twenty-three, and was his first organ. It was completed in 1843, and launched his career as an organ-maker.


title: Basilica of Saint-Denis

text: It contains numerous innovations introduced in the romantic area, in particular the very first Barker lever. With three manuals and pedals, it is protected by the Monument historique label. It was restored in 1901 by Charles Mutin, and between 1983 and 1987 by Jean-Loup Boisseau and Bertrand Cattiaux. Pierre Pincemaille, sole titular organist for 30 years (between 1987 and 2018), held many recitals (between 1989 and 1995, then between 2014 and 2017), and recorded eight CDs using this instrument.


title: Basilica of Saint-Denis

text: The cathedral contained an extensive treasury, mainly constituted by the Abbot Suger. It contained crowns (those of Charlemagne, Saint Louis, and Henry IV of France), a cross, and liturgical objects.


title: Basilica of Saint-Denis

text: All but four of the Kings of France were buried in the basilica (with Charlemagne, Louis XI, Charles X, & Louis Philippe I buried elsewhere), as well as a few other monarchs. The remains of the early monarchs were removed from the destroyed Abbey of St Genevieve. Some of the more prominent monarchs buried in the basilica are:


title: Oh My Venus

text: Oh My Venus () is a South Korean television series starring So Ji-sub and Shin Min-a. It aired on KBS2 on Mondays and Tuesdays at 21:55 (KST) time slot for 16 episodes beginning on November 16, 2015.


title: Oh My Venus

text: Kim Young-ho, a.k.a. John Kim, is a personal trainer to Hollywood stars. Despite his family's wealth, Young-ho suffered a devastating illness in his childhood. But he believes living a healthy lifestyle and exercise is the only way to survive. He uses this to run from his family issues. His fear of his father and pity for his grandmother. A Hollywood scandal with an actress has him on the run back to Korea.


title: Oh My Venus

text: Kang Joo-eun was once an "ulzzang" in her teens, semi-famous for her pretty face and enviable figure. Now a 33-year-old lawyer, she has gained a lot of weight since. She passes out on a flight from the U.S. back to Korea and John Kim is the only medical personnel on the flight who takes charge. He watches out for her even after they arrive home. After getting dumped by her boyfriend, Im Woo-shik, she finds that she has the press pass for John Kim and proceeds to (blackmail) convince him to help her lose the weight.


title: Oh My Venus

text: She discovers that Young-ho has a weakness for being a knight in shining armor. She moves in with him, Ji-woong and Joon-sung (Korean Snake), after a stalking incident and also her brother needing money for marriage anyway caused her to sell her apartment. As they work on her physical transformation, both discover they feel more for each other than what they will admit. As they grow closer they heal each other's emotional wounds and eventually falling in love before a tragedy befalls Kim Young-ho leaving his fate uncertain.


title: Oh My Venus

text: In a flashback scene, it's revealed that Kang Joo-eun met Kim Young-ho when he was dealing with bone cancer when he was a child and placed a plaster on his cast.


title: Oh My Venus

text: Shin underwent heavy make-up and costuming for her role as the overweight Kang Joo-eun. Before each filming session, Shin underwent three hours of make-up that included attaching a silicone mask formed from a mold of her face. A fat suit and padded clothing were also used to create the appearance of a heavy 30-something.


title: Powered exoskeleton

text: A powered exoskeleton, also known as power armor, powered armor, powered suit, cybernetic suit, cybernetic armor, exosuit, hardsuit, exoframe or augmented mobility, is a mobile machine that is wearable over all or part of the human body, providing ergonomic structural support and powered by a system of electric motors, pneumatics, levers, hydraulics or a combination of cybernetic technologies, while allowing for sufficient limb movement with increased strength and endurance. The exoskeleton is designed to provide better mechanical load tolerance, and its control system aims to sense and synchronize with the user's intended motion and relay the signal to motors which manage the gears. The exoskeleton also protects the user's shoulder, waist, back and thigh against overload, and stabilizes movements when lifting and holding heavy items.


title: Powered exoskeleton

text: A powered exoskeleton differs from a passive exoskeleton, as the latter has no intrinsic actuator and relies completely on the user's own muscles for movements, adding more stress and making the user more prone to fatigue, although it does provide mechanical benefits and protection to the user. This also explains the difference of an exoskeleton to orthotics, as orthosis mainly aims to promote the progressively increased muscle work and, in the best case, regain and improve existing muscle functions. Currently, there are products that can help humans reduce their energy consumption by as much as 60 percent while carrying things.


title: Powered exoskeleton

text: The earliest-known exoskeleton-like device was an apparatus for assisting movement developed in 1890 by Russian engineer Nicholas Yagin. It used energy stored in compressed gas bags to assist in movement, although it was passive and required human power. In 1917, United States inventor Leslie C. Kelley developed what he called a pedomotor, which operated on steam power with artificial ligaments acting in parallel to the wearer's movements. This system was able to supplement human power with external power.


title: Powered exoskeleton

text: In the 1960s, the first true 'mobile machines' integrated with human movements began to appear. A suit called Hardiman was co-developed by General Electric and the US Armed Forces. The suit was powered by hydraulics and electricity and amplified the wearer's strength by a factor of 25, so that lifting would feel like lifting . A feature called force feedback enabled the wearer to feel the forces and objects being manipulated.


title: Powered exoskeleton

text: The Hardiman had major limitations, including its weight. It was also designed as a master-slave system: the operator was in a master suit surrounded by the exterior slave suit, which performed work in response to the operator's movements. The response time for the slave suit was slow compared to a suit constructed of a single layer, and bugs caused "violent and uncontrollable motion by the machine" when moving both legs simultaneously. Hardiman's slow walking speed of 0.76 metres per second (2.5 ft/s or just under 2 mph) further limited practical uses, and the project was not successful.


title: Powered exoskeleton

text: At about the same time, early active exoskeletons and humanoid robots were developed at the Mihajlo Pupin Institute in Yugoslavia by a team led by Prof. Miomir Vukobratović. Legged locomotion systems were developed first, with the goal of assisting in the rehabilitation of paraplegics. In the course of developing active exoskeletons, the Institute also developed theory to aid in the analysis and control of the human gait. Some of this work informed the development of modern high-performance humanoid robots. In 1972, an active exoskeleton for rehabilitation of paraplegics that was pneumatically powered and electronically programmed was tested at Belgrade Orthopedic Clinic.


title: Powered exoskeleton

text: In 1985, an engineer at Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) proposed an exoskeleton called Pitman, a powered suit of armor for infantrymen. The design included brain-scanning sensors in the helmet and was considered too futuristic; it was never built.


title: Powered exoskeleton

text: In 1986, an exoskeleton called the Lifesuit was designed by Monty Reed, a US Army Ranger who had broken his back in a parachute accident. While recovering in the hospital, he read Robert Heinlein's science fiction novel "Starship Troopers", and Heinlein's description of mobile infantry power suits inspired Reed to design a supportive exoskeleton. In 2001, Reed began working full-time on the project, and in 2005 he wore the 12th prototype in the Saint Patrick's Day Dash foot race in Seattle, Washington. Reed claims to have set the speed record for walking in robot suits by completing the race at an average speed of . The Lifesuit prototype 14 can walk on a full charge and lift for the wearer.


title: Powered exoskeleton

text: The general categorization suggests several feasible exoskeleton categories. Such categories have general classes, due to the wide quantity of exoskeletons in existence, and are the structure, the body part focused on, the action, the power technology, the purpose, and the application area varying from one to another.


title: Powered exoskeleton

text: Exoskeletons are not only designed for specific body parts; the exoskeletons may be designed more generally for only one hand, a leg, or even the complete body. Thus, the separation of the classes demonstrates the most common body parts exoskeletons can be built for. The full-body class refers to the exoskeletons made to assist all the limbs, or most of the body. The upper body refers to the exoskeletons made for the upper limbs, and involving the chest, head, back, and/or shoulders. The lower body category refers to the exoskeletons made for the lower limbs: thighs, lower legs, and/or hips. Moreover, there are classes for specific limbs and specific joints. These classes include exoskeletons designed for the knee, ankle, hand, arm, foot, etc. Additionally, there is a special class for any other exoskeleton that is not included in the previous classes.


title: Powered exoskeleton

text: Rigid exoskeletons are those whose structural components attached to the user’s body are made with hard materials. Such materials include metals, plastics, fibers, etc. On the other hand, soft exoskeletons, also called exo-suits, are made with materials that allow free movement of the structural components. Exo-suits are often made with, yet not restricted to, textiles.


title: Powered exoskeleton

text: The action category describes the type of help the exoskeleton gives the user, dividing exoskeletons into active and passive action. The active class comprises exoskeletons that give “active” aid to the user; in other words, these exoskeletons perform the movements without the need for the user to apply energy. The energy needed to perform the movement is supplied by an external source. On the other hand, the passive class comprises exoskeletons that need the user to perform the movement to work; these exoskeletons do not have power sources. Thus, the user has to perform the movement, and while doing it, the exoskeleton facilitates the movement.


title: Powered exoskeleton

text: The powered technologies are separated into four main classes, with one specific class for hybrid and one for any other non-common power technology. The four main classes comprise the electric, hydraulic, and pneumatic actuators as the active action, and the mechanical systems as the passive action.


title: Powered exoskeleton

text: The exoskeleton’s purpose defines what the exoskeleton will be used for. This category has only two classes: recovery and performance. The recovery exoskeletons are used for rehabilitation; the performance exoskeletons are used for assistance.


title: Powered exoskeleton

text: The last category comprises the application area for which the exoskeleton was made. Each exoskeleton may belong to one or more class. The military class comprises any exoskeleton used for any activity involving an army, navy, airforce, or any other military branch. The medical class comprises the exoskeletons involved in clinical activities, or in general, used in any hospital/clinic. Additionally, the recovery exoskeletons are normally classified in the medical class. Furthermore, the research class comprises the exoskeletons that are nowadays in their research development phase. The industrial class, as its name suggests, encompasses those exoskeletons made specifically for industrial activities. These exoskeletons are characterized for being used by people without any pathology seeking the avoidance of long-term physical damages. This description also applies to military exoskeletons. The civilian class is for the recovery or performance exoskeletons made for people to use in their homes or public spaces, aiding in tasks that people cannot perform as easily alone. Finally, there is a class for exoskeletons in which the applications do not fit into any of the previous classes.


title: Powered exoskeleton

text: In medical application, e.g. with complete paraplegia after spinal cord injury, an exoskeleton can be an additional option for the supply of aids if the structural and functional properties of the neuromuscular and skeletal system are too limited to be able to achieve mobilization with an orthosis. In patients with complete paraplegia (ASIA A), exoskeletons are interesting as an alternative to an orthosis under this criterion for lesion heights above the thoracic vertebra (T12). In patients with incomplete paraplegia (ASIA B-D), orthotics are even suitable for lesion heights above T12 in order to promote the patient's own activity to such an extent that the therapeutical mobilization can be successful. In contrast to an orthosis, an exoskeleton takes over a large part of the active muscle work, while an orthosis is intended to activate the recovery of muscle work. In addition powered exoskeletons can improve the quality of life of individuals who have lost the use of their legs by enabling system-assisted walking. Exoskeletons—that may be called "step rehabilitation robots"—may also help with the rehabilitation from stroke, spinal cord injury or during aging. Several prototype exoskeletons are under development. The Ekso GT, made by Ekso Bionics, is the first exoskeleton to be approved by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for stroke patients. The German Research Centre for Artificial Intelligence has developed two general purpose powered exoskeletons, CAPIO and VI-Bot. These are primarily being used for teleoperation. Exoskeleton technology is also being developed to enhance precision during surgery, and to help nurses move and carry heavy patients.


title: Powered exoskeleton

text: Developing a full-body suit that meets the needs of soldiers has proven challenging. The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) launched the Warrior Web program in September 2011 and has developed and funded several prototypes, including a "soft exosuit" developed by Harvard University's Wyss Institute. In the early 2000s, DARPA funded the first Sarcos full-body, powered exoskeleton prototype, which was hydraulically actuated and consumed 6,800 watts of power. By 2010, DARPA and Sarcos had more than halved that, to 3,000 watts, but still required the exoskeleton to be tethered to the power source. Nowadays, the Sarcos Guardian XO is powered by lithium ion batteries and is applicable for military logistics applications. In 2019, the US Army's TALOS exoskeleton project was put on hold. A variety of "slimmed-down" exoskeletons have been developed for use on the battlefield, aimed at decreasing fatigue and increasing productivity. For example, Lockheed Martin's ONYX suit aims to support soldiers in performing tasks that are "knee-intensive", such as crossing difficult terrain. Leia Stirling's group has identified that exoskeletons can reduce a soldier's response times.


title: Powered exoskeleton

text: Exoskeletons are being developed to help firefighters and other rescue workers to climb stairs while carrying heavy equipment.


title: Powered exoskeleton

text: Passive exoskeleton technology is increasingly being used in the automotive industry, with the goal of reducing worker injury (especially in the shoulders and spine) and reducing errors due to fatigue. They are also being examined for use in logistics.


title: Powered exoskeleton

text: For broadest application, industrial exoskeletons must be lightweight, comfortable, safe, and minimally disruptive to the environment. For some applications, single-joint exoskeletons (i.e. intended to assist only the limb involved in specific tasks) are more appropriate than full-body powered suits. Full-body powered exoskeletons have been developed to assist with heavy loads in the industrial setting, and for specialized applications such as nuclear power plant maintenance.


title: Powered exoskeleton

text: The biomechanical efficacy of exoskeletons in industrial applications is however still largely unknown. Companies have to conduct a risk assessment for workplaces at which exoskeletons are to be used. The Institute for Occupational Safety and Health of the German Social Accident Insurance has developed a draft risk assessment for exoskeletons and their use. The safety assessment is based on diverse experience including machine safety, personal protective equipment and risk analysis of physical stresses at work. The exoskeletons available on the market often fail to give adequate consideration to safety aspects, in some cases despite claims to the contrary by their manufacturers.


title: Powered exoskeleton

text: Mobility aids are frequently abandoned for lack of usability. Major measures of usability include whether the device reduces the energy consumed during motion, and whether it is safe to use. Some design issues faced by engineers are listed below.


title: Powered exoskeleton

text: One of the biggest problems facing engineers and designers of powered exoskeletons is the power supply. This is a particular issue if the exoskeleton is intended to be worn "in the field", i.e. outside a context in which the exoskeleton can be tethered to a power source. Batteries require frequent replacement or recharging, and may risk explosion due to thermal runaway. According to Sarcos, the company has solved some of these issues related to battery technology, particularly consumption, reducing the amount of power required to operate its Guardian XO to under 500 watts and enabling its batteries to be “hot-swapped” without powering down the unit. Internal combustion engine power supplies offer high energy output, but problems include exhaust fumes, heat and inability to modulate power smoothly. Hydrogen cells have been used in some prototypes but also suffer from several problems.


title: Powered exoskeleton

text: Early exoskeletons used inexpensive and easy-to-mold materials, such as steel and aluminium. However, steel is heavy and the powered exoskeleton must work harder to overcome its own weight, reducing efficiency. Aluminium alloys are lightweight, but fail through fatigue quickly. Fiberglass, carbon fiber and carbon nanotubes have considerably higher strength per weight. "Soft" exoskeletons that attach motors and control devices to flexible clothing are also under development.


title: Powered exoskeleton

text: Joint actuators also face the challenge of being lightweight, yet powerful. Technologies used include pneumatic activators, hydraulic cylinders, and electronic servomotors. Elastic actuators are being investigated to simulate control of stiffness in human limbs and provide touch perception. The air muscle, braided pneumatic actuator or McKibben air muscle, is also used to enhance tactile feedback.


title: Powered exoskeleton

text: The flexibility of human anatomy is a design issue for traditional "hard" robots. Several human joints such as the hips and shoulders are ball and socket joints, with the center of rotation inside the body. Since no two individuals are exactly alike, fully mimicking the degrees of freedom of a joint is not possible. Instead, the exoskeleton joint is commonly modeled as a series of hinges with one degree of freedom for each of the dominant rotations.


title: Powered exoskeleton

text: Spinal flexibility is another challenge since the spine is effectively a stack of limited-motion ball joints. There is no simple combination of external single-axis hinges that can easily match the full range of motion of the human spine. Because accurate alignment is challenging, devices often include the ability to compensate for misalignment with additional degrees of freedom.


title: Powered exoskeleton

text: A successful exoskeleton should assist its user, for example by reducing the energy required to perform a task. Individual variations in the nature, range and force of movements make it difficult for a standardized device to provide the appropriate amount of assistance at the right time. Algorithms to tune control parameters to automatically optimize the energy cost of walking are under development. Direct feedback between the human nervous system and motorized prosthetics ("neuro-embodied design") has also been implemented in a few high-profile cases.


title: Powered exoskeleton

text: Humans exhibit a wide range of physical size differences in both skeletal bone lengths and limb and torso girth, so exoskeletons must either be adaptable or fitted to individual users. In military applications, it may be possible to address this by requiring the user to be of an approved physical size in order to be issued an exoskeleton. Physical body size restrictions already occur in the military for jobs such as aircraft pilots, due to the problems of fitting seats and controls to very large and very small people. For soft exoskeletons, this is less of a problem.


title: Powered exoskeleton

text: While exoskeletons can reduce the stress of manual labor, they may also pose dangers. The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has called for research to address the potential dangers and benefits of the technology, noting potential new risk factors for workers such as lack of mobility to avoid a falling object, and potential falls due to a shift in center of gravity.


title: Powered exoskeleton

text: As of 2018, the US Occupational Safety and Health Administration was not preparing any safety standards for exoskeletons. The International Organization for Standardization published a safety standard in 2014, and ASTM International was working on standards to be released beginning in 2019.


title: Powered exoskeleton

text: Powered exoskeletons are featured in science fiction books and media as the standard equipment for space marines, miners, astronauts and colonists. The science fiction novel "Starship Troopers" by Robert A. Heinlein (1959) is credited with introducing the concept of futuristic military armor. Other examples include Tony Stark's Iron Man suit, the robot exoskeleton used by Ellen Ripley to fight the Xenomorph queen in "Aliens" and the Power Armor used in the "Fallout" video game franchise.


title: Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce

text: Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce OD, OJ (née Fraser; born December 27, 1986) is a Jamaican track and field sprinter competing in the 60 metres, 100 m and 200 m. She is widely regarded as one of the greatest sprinters of all time.


title: Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce

text: One of the most enduring track athletes in history, Fraser-Pryce’s career spans over a decade and a half, from the late 2000s to the 2020s. Her success on the track, including her consistency at major championships, helped to usher in the golden age of Jamaican sprinting. In the 100 m, her signature event, she is a two-time Olympic gold medallist and a five-time world champion. In the 200 m, she has won Olympic silver and World Championship gold.


title: Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce

text: An eight-time Olympic medallist, she rose from relative obscurity at the 2008 Beijing Olympics, becoming the first Caribbean woman to win gold in the 100 m. At the 2012 London Olympics, she became the third woman in history to defend an Olympic 100 m title. After injury affected her season, she won bronze at the 2016 Rio Olympics. Thirteen years after her first Olympic win, she won a silver medal at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, becoming the first athlete to medal in the 100 m at four consecutive Olympic Games.


title: Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce

text: At the World Athletics Championships, Fraser-Pryce is one of the most decorated athletes in history, winning ten gold and four silver medals. She is the only sprinter to win five world titles in the 100 m—in 2009, 2013, 2015, 2019, and 2022. Her win in 2019 made her the first mother in 24 years to claim a global 100 m title, while her win in 2022 at age 35 made her the oldest sprinter ever to become world champion. In 2013, she became the first woman to sweep the 100 m, 200 m and 4 × 100 m at the same World Championship, and was voted the IAAF World Athlete of the Year. She also won the 60 m world indoor title in 2014, becoming the first ever female athlete to hold world titles in all four sprint events at the same time.


title: Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce

text: A dominant force in women's sprinting, Fraser-Pryce has won more global 100 m titles than any other sprinter in history. Nicknamed the "Pocket Rocket" for her petite stature and explosive block starts, her personal best of 10.60 seconds makes her the third fastest woman ever. World Athletics hailed her as "the greatest female sprinter of her generation", while many sources, including "Athletics Weekly", "The Guardian" and "The Telegraph", described her as "the greatest female sprinter of all time". In 2019, she was included on the BBC's list of 100 inspiring and influential women in the world.


title: Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce

text: Shelly-Ann Fraser was born to Orane Fraser and Maxine Simpson in the inner city community of Waterhouse, in Kingston. She was raised with her two brothers by her mother, a former athlete who worked as a street vendor. A gifted sprinter from a very young age, she started running barefoot in primary school. Throughout her time at the Wolmer's High School for Girls, she was uncertain about pursuing a career in track and field. However, she was active on the youth athletics scene, competing in the famous Inter-Secondary Schools Boys and Girls Championships (known locally as "Champs"), and winning bronze in the 100 m at age 16. In 2002, she ran 25.35 s to win the 200 m title at the Jamaican Under-18 Championships, and later that year helped the Jamaican junior team win 4 × 100 m relay gold at the Central American and Caribbean Junior Championships, held in Bridgetown, Barbados. At the 2005 CARIFTA Games in Trinidad and Tobago, she won bronze in the 100 m in 11.73 s, and earned a gold medal as part of the 4 × 100 m relay team.


title: Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce

text: In 2006, Fraser-Pryce started attending the University of Technology, Jamaica, where she met Stephen Francis. At the time, Francis was the head coach at the MVP (Maximising Velocity and Power) Track Club, and had guided the career of former 100 m world record holder Asafa Powell. Despite encouragement from peers and coaches, Fraser-Pryce was unfocused as a young athlete. She was often late for practice, and at times wouldn’t complete her workouts for fear that she would become too muscular.


title: Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce

text: Fraser-Pryce began to achieve success on the senior national and international stages in 2007. At age 20, she was fifth in the 100 m at the Jamaican National Senior Championships in June, setting a new personal best of 11.31 s. Although a fifth-place finish meant that she was ineligible to compete in the 100 m event at the 2007 Osaka World Championships, she was selected as a reserve for Jamaica's 4 × 100 m relay team. Hoping to gain experience at an international level, she made her debut on the European athletics circuit in July and saw promising results. She first ran a wind-assisted 11.39 s for second place at the Budapest Iharos Memorial, followed by 11.44 s to win the Meeting Terra Sarda in Italy. In August, she again won the 100 m at the Stockholm DN-Galan, posting 11.57 s.


title: Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce

text: At the World Championships in September, Fraser-Pryce ran only in the relay heats, helping her team place second. She eventually earned a silver medal when the Jamaican team finished behind the United States in the 4 × 100 m relay final. Despite her initial anxiety towards competing at the World Championships, Fraser-Pryce credited her experience in Osaka for raising her confidence, changing her attitude towards athletics, and for making her much more focused.


title: Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce

text: Fraser-Pryce's breakthrough in 2008 was sudden and unexpected. At the Jamaican Olympic trials in June, she was a surprise second-place finisher in the hotly contested 100 m final, posting her first ever sub-11 s clocking of 10.85 s. Compatriots Kerron Stewart won the national title in 10.80 s and Sherone Simpson was third in 10.87 s, completing the Olympic team for this event. However, Jamaican sprint darling Veronica Campbell-Brown, the 2007 world 100 m champion and 2004 Olympic 200 m champion, finished fourth in 10.88 s, failing to make the team. With Fraser-Pryce barely known among the local athletics scene, many considered her too inexperienced for the Olympics, and petitioned the Jamaica Athletics Administrative Association (JAAA) to have her swapped in favour of Campbell-Brown. However, the JAAA upheld its rule permitting only the top-three finishers on the team. Fraser-Pryce recalled being disappointed but mostly unfazed by the backlash, and saw her underdog status as an advantage: "I went in just wanting to do well. So there was no pressure and nobody expected anything of me and I was able to compete better, relaxed and be my best."


title: Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce

text: At the 2008 Beijing Olympics, Fraser-Pryce faced off against the American trio of Torri Edwards, Muna Lee and decorated sprinter Lauryn Williams, winning her heat, quarterfinal and semifinal. In the 100 m final, she led a Jamaican sweep of the medals, trailed by Sherone Simpson and Kerron Stewart who both posted 10.98 s for silver (no bronze was awarded). Replicating the success of compatriot Usain Bolt from the night before, she became the first ever Caribbean woman to win 100 m gold at the Olympics. Her winning time of 10.78 s was not only an improvement of 0.53 seconds from her previous season's best, it was also the second fastest in Olympic history at the time, behind Florence Griffith Joyner's 1988 Olympic record.


title: Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce

text: In the 4 × 100 m relay, Fraser-Pryce ran the lead leg alongside Stewart, Simpson and Campbell-Brown. The Jamaican team won their heat and qualified as the fastest overall for the final. However, disappointment followed in the final when a botched baton exchange led to their disqualification. Fraser-Pryce capped her season in September after running 10.94 s to win 100 m gold at the 2008 IAAF World Athletics Final.


title: Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce

text: The following year, Fraser-Pryce proved that she was no one-hit wonder by capturing 100 m gold at the 2009 Berlin World Championships. Despite ultimately taking the title, her early season was marred by injury, followed by an appendix surgery in April, which impeded her training and preparation. After a fourth-place finish at the Prefontaine Classic in June, she ran a world-leading 10.88 s to claim her first 100 m national title at the Jamaican Championships, finishing ahead of defending champion Kerron Stewart (10.93 s). However, in July, Stewart emerged as gold medal favourite after posting 10.75 s to defeat Fraser-Pryce (10.91 s) at the Golden Gala in Rome, becoming the fifth fastest woman in history at the time.


title: Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce

text: At the World Championships in August, Fraser-Pryce finished second in her heat and quarterfinal, but came into form in the semifinal with 10.79 s, the fastest semifinal time in the history of the championship (at the time). In the 100 m final, she made a flying start and held off a late challenge from Stewart to win her first world title in 10.73 s. Sports writer Matthew Brown attributed her victory to "one of the most sensational starts ever seen in a major final... [she was] a metre and a half clear of the field before a tenth of the race was run." Stewart equalled her own personal best of 10.75 s for silver, while Carmelita Jeter of the United States (10.90 s) prevented another Jamaican podium sweep by beating Campbell-Brown (10.95 s) to the bronze. Fraser-Pryce's winning time made her the joint third fastest woman in history at the time, and shaved one-hundredth of a second from Merlene Ottey's Jamaican record. With the victory, she also joined American Gail Devers as the second woman to win consecutive Olympic and world titles in the 100 m (a feat she replicated in the 2012–2013 season). Giddy with excitement, Fraser-Pryce was shocked at her achievement: "Olympic and world champion – can you believe it? Me?" Asked whether she considered herself the favourite going into the final, she praised her rivals, saying, "That’s something I never do. The board is blank at the start. Everybody else wants it too." Days later, she added a second gold medal at the championships as part of Jamaica's 4 × 100 m relay team, running alongside Stewart, Simone Facey and Aleen Bailey.


title: Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce

text: Back on the international circuit that year, she finished fourth at the Zürich Weltklasse in 11.10 s, second at the Memorial Van Damme in 10.98 s, and first at the Rieti Meeting in 11.18 s. She ended her season in September following the 2009 IAAF World Athletics Final, where she clocked 10.89 s for silver behind Jeter in the 100 m final.


title: Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce

text: In June 2010, Fraser-Pryce received a six-month suspension from athletics after a urine sample taken at the Shanghai Diamond League tested positive for oxycodone. Although oxycodone is banned as a narcotic, it is not considered performance enhancing or to be a masking agent. Fraser-Pryce insisted that her positive result was due to medication her coach recommended for a toothache, and that she had neglected to properly declare it. She later stated, "[I'm] supposed to set examples – so whatever it is I put in my body it's up to me to take responsibility for it and I have done that." She resumed competition in January 2011, and her track results from 2010 were nullified.


title: Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce

text: Fraser-Pryce married Jason Pryce in January 2011, changing her name from Fraser to Fraser-Pryce. She had a late start to her 2011 season, hampered by a calf injury that prevented her from competing at the Jamaican National Championships. She also withdrew from the Athletissima track meet in Switzerland at the end of June. She ran only four races on the international circuit ahead of the Daegu World Championships, winning once at the Meeting Sport Solidarietà in Italy in 11.11 s. At the World Championships, she was not considered the favourite for gold, and her season's best of 10.95 s ranked her the sixth fastest of the year.


title: Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce

text: In Daegu, Fraser-Pryce placed second in her 100 m heat in 11.13 s, then first in her semifinal in 11.03 s. In the world 100 m final, she started quickly but could not maintain the lead, finishing fourth in 10.99 s, and missing the podium by 0.01 s. Gold went to Carmelita Jeter in 10.90 s, while Veronica Campbell-Brown and Kelly-Ann Baptiste of Trinidad and Tobago collected silver and bronze in 10.97 s and 10.98 s respectively. Fraser-Pryce later ran the lead leg on Jamaica's 4 × 100 m relay team, earning silver behind the United States in a new national record of 41.70 s.


title: Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce

text: Beginning with her first Olympic win in 2008, Fraser-Pryce had been at the forefront of a booming sprint rivalry between Jamaica and the United States. At the Beijing Olympics, Jamaica captured five of a possible six gold medals in the sprints, with Fraser-Pryce and Campbell-Brown winning the women’s 100 m and 200 m respectively, and Usain Bolt dominating the men's 100 m, 200 m, and 4 × 100 m relay. Jamaica's success continued through the 2009 and 2011 World Championships, highlighted by Bolt's record-breaking performances at each event. Fraser-Pryce's career dip in 2010 and 2011 saw U.S. sprinter Carmelita Jeter rising to prominence in the 100 m, becoming the fastest woman alive (at the time) and clinching the world title in 2011. Fraser-Pryce later described Jeter as one of the toughest rivals she faced throughout her career.


title: Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce

text: Despite a slow start, the 2012 athletics season proved to be one of the most successful for the diminutive sprinter. In May, she posted 11.00 s for third at the Doha Diamond League, then 11.06 s for second place at the Rome Golden Gala. By June, she was in winning form, cruising to victory at the Adidas Grand Prix in 10.92 s. Weeks later, she won the sprint double at the Jamaican Olympic Trials in Kingston. In the 100 m, she sped to a new personal best (and world lead) of 10.70 s, which improved on the national record she set in 2009 and moved her to fourth on the all-time list of fastest 100 m sprinters. In the 200 m, she defeated the reigning world and Olympic 200 m champion Veronica Campbell-Brown in a career-best 22.10 s. While preparing for the Olympics, she was also completing her Bachelor of Science degree at the University of Technology in Jamaica.


title: Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce

text: At the Olympics in London, Fraser-Pryce won her 100 m heat and semifinal in 11.00 s and 10.85 s respectively. She progressed to the final as the second fastest qualifier behind Carmelita Jeter’s 10.83 s. In the 100 m final, Fraser-Pryce was quickest from the blocks with Jeter in close pursuit, and she ultimately leaned at the finish line for a narrow victory to defend her title. Her time of 10.75 s was the second fastest in Olympic history at the time, while the race itself was one of the fastest Olympic 100 m finals, placing six women under 11 seconds. Jeter claimed silver in a season's best 10.78 s, and Campbell-Brown earned bronze in 10.81 s. With her win, Fraser-Pryce joined Americans Wyomia Tyus (1964, 1968) and Gail Devers (1992, 1996) as the third woman to defend an Olympic 100 m title. Days later in the 200 m final, Fraser-Pryce lowered her personal best to 22.09 s. However, she was unable to overhaul Allyson Felix of the U.S., who took the gold in 21.88 s. Fraser-Pryce later earned a second silver medal in the 4 × 100 m relay, running alongside Campbell-Brown, Sherone Simpson and Kerron Stewart. Their finishing time of 41.41 s was a new Jamaican record, but well behind the United States' world record of 40.82 s.


title: Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce

text: Overall, Jamaica had another strong showing in athletics at the 2012 Olympics. In addition to Fraser-Pryce retaining her 100 m title, Bolt also continued his winning streak in the men's events, leading a top-two finish for Jamaica in the 100 m final, a sweep of the podium in the 200 m final, and a new world record in the 4 × 100 m relay. Following the Olympics, Fraser-Pryce closed out her season by taking the 100 m title at the 2012 Diamond League.


title: Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce

text: In 2013, Fraser-Pryce continued to show her consistency when she became the first woman to sweep the 100 m, 200 m and 4 × 100 m at a single World Championship. Her achievements were matched by Usain Bolt in the men's events, giving Jamaica a clean sweep of the sprinting gold medals at the championships. Fraser-Pryce attributed her successful year to an increase in focus on her track career (after finishing school in November 2012) and a new training regimen that emphasised the 200 m. She started the season early, recording 11.47 s for an easy win at the Kingston Invitational in January. Over the next few months, she secured Diamond League wins in Shanghai, Eugene, and Paris in the 100 m, followed by a 200 m victory in Doha. In June, she claimed her second consecutive national 200 m title at the Jamaican Championships, setting a new world-leading time of 22.13 s.


title: Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce

text: Ahead of the Moscow World Championship, Fraser-Pryce was the favourite to win both the 100 m and 200 m sprint titles. In Moscow, she dominated her 100 m heat and semi-final. In the 100 m final, she surged from the blocks and left her rivals trailing, claiming gold in a new world leading 10.71 s. Her 0.22-second margin of victory ahead of silver medallist Murielle Ahouré of the Ivory Coast (10.93 s) was the largest in World Championship history. Defending world champion Carmelita Jeter, the best placed of the four Americans in the final, collected bronze in 10.94 s. By claiming a second world title, Fraser-Pryce became the first woman to win the 100 m twice at both the Olympics (2008, 2012) and the World Championships (2009, 2013).


title: Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce

text: In the world 200 m final, Fraser-Pryce's eagerly-awaited showdown with three-time world champion and reigning Olympic champion Allyson Felix failed to materialise, as the American fell to the track early in the race with a hamstring injury. Fraser-Pryce led from the gun, claiming her first global title in this event in 22.17 s. Later, as the anchor for Jamaica's 4 × 100 m relay team, she completed a hat trick of world titles in a new championship record of 41.29 s.


title: Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce

text: Fraser-Pryce registered the three fastest 100 m times of 2013 and the two fastest in the 200 m. She won six Diamond League races throughout the season (four in the 100 m and two in the 200 m) to clinch the Diamond League titles for both events. Owing to her achievements on the track throughout the season, she was named the IAAF World Athlete of the Year. She is the second Jamaican woman to win this award after Merlene Ottey in 1990.


title: Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce

text: On the heels of a successful 2013 season, Fraser-Pryce made her World Indoor Championships debut in Sopot, Poland in March 2014. Early into her 2014 season, she posted 7.11 s in an outdoor 60 m race in Kingston. Months later in Birmingham, she finished second in her only 60 m loss of the season to world 100 m and 200 m silver medallist Murielle Ahouré. She decided to compete at the World Indoor Championships as part of her preparation for her outdoor season.


title: Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce

text: In Sopot, she won both her heat and semifinal in 7.12 s and 7.08 s respectively. In the 60 m final, she had her usual quick start and finished ahead of Ahouré in a world-leading 6.98 s. Her winning time, which she achieved with no specific preparation for the 60 m, was the fastest at the championships since 1999, and the seventh fastest in history at the time. In claiming gold, she gave Jamaica its fourth 60 m win in the 16-year history of the biennial championships. She also became the first woman in history to hold world titles in the 60 m, 100 m, 200 m and 4 × 100 m at the same time. This was Fraser-Pryce's last outing at an indoor tournament until 2020.


title: Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce

text: There were no major outdoor championships in 2014. In the Diamond League, she won the 100 m in Doha in early May, posting 11.13 s. However, she struggled with shin splints for the rest of her season, resulting in poor showings on the international circuit. She first withdrew from the Shanghai meet in mid-May, before finishing last in the 200 m at the Prefontaine Classic, then seventh in the 100 m in Rome. Later that month, she competed in the 4 × 200 m relay at the IAAF World Relays, where the Jamaican team finished third in 1:30.04 s, behind the United States (1:29.45 s) and Great Britain (1:29.61 s).


title: Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce

text: In June, she again withdrew from the Adidas Grand Prix, and returned to the track in July at the Glasgow Grand Prix, where she ran 11.10 s for second place in the 100 m. At the 2014 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, she ran only in the 4 × 100 m relay, anchoring the Jamaican team to gold in 41.83 s.


title: Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce

text: In 2015, Fraser-Pryce decided not to defend her 200 m title at the Beijing World Championships, opting instead to focus on the 100 m for the season. Speaking at the Meeting de Paris in July, she stated that although the longer sprint helped to improve her speed endurance for the 100 m, her coach believed she had lost some of her explosiveness from the blocks. As part of her preparation for the Rio Olympics in 2016, she wanted to prioritize the 100 m for the 2015 season to sharpen her technique. She ran only two 200 m races that year—in two minor meets in Kingston—finishing first and third in 22.96 s and 22.37 s respectively. In the 100 m, she started the season strong, setting an early world lead of 10.81 s at the Prefontaine Classic in May. She lowered the mark to 10.79 s at the Jamaican Championships at the end of June, and a week later, set a new world lead and meet record of 10.74 s in Paris.


title: Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce

text: At the World Championships in August, Fraser-Pyrce posted 10.88 s in her 100 m heat, then 10.82 s to win her semifinal. In the 100 m final, she sped to a record third world title in 10.76 s, adding to her triumphs in Berlin (2009) and Moscow (2013). Her winning time was also the second fastest in the world for 2015, a mark only she had beaten that year. Dutch sprinter Dafne Schippers—who finished quickly to take silver in 10.81 s—said, "I was close at the end. When you're close to Fraser-Pryce you know you've got a medal." American Tori Bowie earned bronze in 10.86 s. With the victory, Fraser-Pryce became the second woman in history after U.S. sprinter Marion Jones to defend a 100 m world title. She also became the first woman to win the biennial title three times, matching the career hauls of Usain Bolt, as well as Americans Carl Lewis and Maurice Greene. Her victory, achieved at the Beijing National Stadium where she won her maiden Olympic gold in 2008, was also her fifth 100 m title from the past six global championships. Although happy for the win, Fraser-Pryce appeared to be dissatisfied with her time, stating, "I'm getting tired of 10.7s... I definitely think a 10.6 is there. Hopefully I will get it together."


title: Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce

text: Days after her historic win, Fraser-Pryce anchored the women's 4 × 100 m relay team, consisting of Veronica Campbell-Brown, Natasha Morrison and newcomer Elaine Thompson, to gold. Their 41.07 s was the second fastest time in history and improved on the previous championship record they set in 2013.


title: Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce

text: In a dominant run of form, Fraser-Pryce went undefeated in ten of her eleven 100 m races throughout 2015. She capped her season with Diamond League wins in Zürich (10.93 s) and Padova (10.98 s) to take the overall 100 m title for the third time in her career.


title: Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce

text: By 2015, Fraser-Pryce had won 100 m gold at the past two Olympics (2008, 2012) and at three of the past four World Championships (2009, 2013, 2015), becoming the most decorated female sprinter ever in this event. For the upcoming 2016 Rio Olympics, she set her sights on capturing an unprecedented third consecutive Olympic 100 m title. Her season did not go as planned, however, after an onset of sesamoiditis caused chronic pain and inflammation to her big toe, hindering her ability to train or compete. Unable to run in spikes, she withdrew from several events earlier in the year. In her season opener at the Prefontaine Classic in May, she finished last in 11.18 s.


title: Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce

text: In the weeks before the Olympics, Fraser-Pryce struggled to reach form, clocking 11.25 s in Italy and 11.06 s at the London Grand Prix. Meanwhile, her training partner Elaine Thompson emerged as the top contender for Olympic gold. In July, Thompson ran a world-leading 10.70 s to defeat Fraser-Pryce (10.93 s) at the Jamaican Olympic Trials. In doing so, she also tied Fraser-Pryce's 100 m national record and joined her teammate at number four on the all-time list. In a highly competitive year that saw many of her rivals post multiple sub-10.90 s times, Fraser-Pryce's lone sub-11 s clocking of 10.93 s ranked her the eighth fastest in the world heading to the Olympics.


title: Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce

text: At the Olympics in Rio, Fraser-Pryce ran a new season's best of 10.88 s to win her semifinal, qualifying as joint fastest for the final with Thompson. However, she was in visible discomfort after her semifinal, crying and limping off the track. In the 100 m final, she had a quick start and finished in a season's best 10.86 s, winning the bronze. Thompson secured Jamaica's third successive 100 m Olympic gold in 10.71 s, while Tori Bowie earned silver in 10.83 s. Although she fell short of defending her Olympic crown, Fraser-Pryce revealed that she had exceeded her own expectations, describing her hard-fought bronze medal as her "greatest ever." Closing out the Olympics, she collected a silver medal as part of the women's 4 × 100 m relay team in a season's best 41.36 s. The United States claimed their second consecutive gold in this event in 41.01 s.


title: Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce

text: After the Olympics, Fraser-Pryce briefly parted ways with longtime coach Stephen Francis, whom she shared with Thompson. At the end of August, Francis disclosed that Fraser-Pryce was unhappy with their preparation for the Olympics, and had expressed a lack of confidence in Francis' training programme. He also alluded to her dissatisfaction over the years with being unable to surpass her 10.70 s personal best (set in 2012). However, with no official statement, Fraser-Pryce and her coach reconciled and she resumed training at the MVP Track Club in November of that year.


title: Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce

text: In early 2017, Fraser-Pryce announced that she was pregnant and would not be defending her title at the 2017 World Championships in London. She went into labour while watching the world 100 m final that year, and gave birth to her son Zyon the next day via emergency C-section. Despite expectations that she would retire after becoming a mother, she publicly promised a major comeback. She returned to training within ten weeks. However, her early sessions were more challenging than she had anticipated. Due to her C-section, she required special compression bandages to help stabilise her stomach during training. She was unable to train her core or lift heavy weights, and frequently had to take time off due to the pain. At times, she doubted if she could ever return to peak form: "I [wondered] whether my body would allow me to put the level of work in to get it done.”


title: Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce

text: Fraser-Pryce returned to the track in May 2018, nine months after giving birth, winning the 100 m at the Kingston All Comers Meet in 11.52 s. The next month, she ran 11.33 s for second place at the Cayman Invitational, then 11.10 s to win the JN Racers Grand Prix back in Kingston. In the 100 m final at the Jamaican Championships, she had a quick start but finished second to double Olympic champion Elaine Thompson in a season's best 11.09 s. In July she took to the international circuit for several Diamond League meets, all while breastfeeding for her first 15 months after giving birth. She competed in the Spitzen Leichtathletik Luzern and the Galà dei Castelli in Switzerland, finishing fifth (11.22 s) and second (11.15 s) respectively.


title: Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce

text: Now self-branded the "mommy rocket", Fraser-Pryce took a more relaxed approach to her training, stating that motherhood not only changed her perspective, but had given her newfound motivation to compete. Although she was optimistic about her return to peak form, one of her biggest hurdles was rebuilding her core strength (hampered by her C-section) to recapture her explosiveness from the blocks. In July 2018, on her ninth race since returning to competition, she finally broke 11 seconds, clocking 10.98 s to win at the London Grand Prix. She later competed in the 4 × 100 m at the 2018 Athletics World Cup, helping the Jamaican team win silver behind Great Britain. In August, she ran 11.18 s for fifth place at the Toronto North American, Central American and Caribbean Athletic Association (NACAC) Championships, then earned silver behind the United States in the 4 × 100 m relay.


title: Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce

text: After ending her 2018 season ranked 10th in the world in the 100 m, Fraser-Pryce made steady progress with her training into the 2019 season. At the Jamaican Championships in June, she again finished second to Elaine Thompson in both the 100 m and the 200 m. However, the 100 m final ended with both sprinters sharing the world-leading time of 10.73 s, and Thompson declared the winner in a photo finish. It was the first race in history in which two women finished inside 10.75 s; Fraser-Pryce's 10.73 s in this race also became the fastest non-winning time in history (at the time).


title: Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce

text: Fraser-Pryce returned to the top of women's sprinting for the remainder of the 2019 season, running at close to personal best times in the 100 m, and recording three of the five fastest times of the year. In August, she won 200 m gold at the 2019 Pan American Games, setting a new championship record of 22.43 s. However, after losing to Thompson at the Jamaican Championships in June, the two did not meet until the 2019 Doha World Championships, in one of the event's most highly anticipated showdowns.


title: Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce

text: In Doha, Fraser-Pryce cruised to 10.80 s in the 100 m heats, the fastest first-round time in World Championships history. She followed with 10.81 s in the semifinal, the fastest qualifying time ahead of the final. In the 100 m final, she outpaced the field from the start, powering away to her fourth title in a world-leading 10.71 s—her fastest time since 2013. Her teammate and rival Thompson finished fourth in 10.93 s. It was the first time Fraser-Pryce had defeated Thompson in their six career matchups. With this achievement, Fraser-Pryce became the oldest woman ever and first mother since Gwen Torrence at the 1995 World Championships to claim a 100 m global title. She took particular satisfaction in her win, calling it "a victory for motherhood," and brought her two-year-old son on her victory lap around the stadium. Days later, she added another gold medal to her collection by running the second leg of the Jamaican 4 × 100 m relay team, her ninth world title overall. She had also planned to contest the 200 m final, but later withdrew.


title: Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce

text: Fraser-Pryce kickstarted her season in February on the indoor circuit, winning the 60 m at the Muller Indoor Athletics Grand Prix in 7.16 s. It was her first indoor competition since she won gold in Sopot back in 2014. The rest of her 2020 season was inhibited by the COVID-19 pandemic, which also led to the postponement of the Tokyo Olympics until 2021. In August 2020, she ran 100 m times of 10.87 s and 10.86 s in local track meets in Kingston, ending her season as the second fastest of the year behind Elaine Thompson's 10.85 s. In the 200 m, she held a season's best of 22.57 s, the sixth fastest in the world for the year.


title: Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce

text: In May 2020, it was reported that Fraser-Pryce had left the MVP Track Club, and had started training under the guidance of Reynaldo Walcott. Walcott had previously worked with Stephen Francis at the MVP Track Club and was now the head coach at the St. Elizabeth Technical High School. Fraser-Pryce trained briefly with Walcott after parting ways with Francis in 2016, but later returned to MVP in November of that year.


title: Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce

text: Fraser-Pryce opened her 2021 season in late May at the Müller Grand Prix Gateshead, posting 11.51 s for fourth place in cold, wet and windy conditions. Days later, she placed first at the Doha Diamond League in 10.84 s. On June 5, 2021, she ran a new personal best, a new world lead and new Jamaican record of 10.63 s at the JAAA Olympic Destiny Series meet in Kingston, becoming the fastest woman alive (at the time). The quickest 100 m in over 33 years, her 10.63 s improved on the previous national record of 10.70 s that she shared with Elaine Thompson-Herah, and placed her ahead of American sprinters Carmelita Jeter (10.64 s) and Marion Jones (10.65 s). Fraser-Pryce told reporters, "I’m at a loss for words because 10.6 has been a dream, a goal. I’ve been working so hard, been so patient and to see it finally unfold, I’m just ecstatic." At the Jamaican Olympic Trials at the end of June, Fraser-Pryce won the 100 m title in 10.71 s, ahead of Shericka Jackson (10.82 s) and defending national champion Elaine Thompson-Herah (10.84 s). She also won the 200 m national title in a new personal best of 21.79 s, beating her previous career best of 22.09 s from 2012.


title: Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce

text: In a Jamaican sweep of the podium in the Olympic 100 m final, Fraser-Pryce finished second behind defending champion Thompson-Herah in 10.74 s. Jackson secured the bronze in a personal best 10.76 s. Thompson-Herah’s winning time of 10.61 s was a new Olympic record, a new national record and overtook Fraser-Pryce as the fastest woman alive. By winning her fourth consecutive Olympic medal in the 100 m, Fraser-Pryce set the record for the most medals won in the event by any athlete.


title: Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce

text: At the Lausanne Diamond League in August, Fraser-Pryce ran a new 100 m personal best of 10.60 s (the third fastest time ever, at the time) to beat Thompson-Herah, whose 10.64 s became the fastest non-winning time in history.


title: Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce

text: By 2022, the sprinting landscape had changed. Many of Fraser-Pryce’s contemporaries, including Usain Bolt, Carmelita Jeter, Kerron Stewart and Veronica Campbell-Brown, had retired from the sport. Although the U.S. men regained sprinting prominence in the post-Bolt era, Jamaica maintained its dominance in the women’s events. Women's sprinting also began to take centre stage in athletics, due in large part to the fierce rivalry between Fraser-Pryce and Thompson-Herah, as well as the rise of flamboyant American sprinter Sha'Carri Richardson. Fraser-Pryce and Thompson-Herah became the two fastest women alive in 2021, and their performances throughout the season reignited the conversations around Florence Griffith Joyner's long-standing 100 m and 200 m world records.


title: Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce

text: At the beginning of the 2021 season, Fraser-Pryce stated that she was planning to retire after the Tokyo Olympics. However, after setting new 100 m and 200 m personal bests that year, she decided to put her retirement plans on hold. For 2022, the 35 year old took a more selective approach to her races due to the physical demands on her body. She opened her season on May 7 at the Kip Keino Classic, running a world-leading 10.67 s at altitude in Nairobi, Kenya. It was the fastest season opener by a female sprinter in history. At the Prefontaine Classic at the end of May, she also won the 200 m in a season’s best 22.41 s, ahead of American Brittany Brown (22.74 s) and Bahamian Anthonique Strachan (22.76 s). On June 18, she ran her second 100 m of the season at the Meeting de Paris, equalling her 10.67 s season's best from Nairobi. Speaking to reporters about the season ahead, she stated, "The plan is to make sure that I am able to run 10.6 sustainably." At the Jamaican Championships in June, Fraser-Pryce won her 100 m heat in 10.70 s. However, she skipped the semi-final and final, having received automatic qualification for the World Championships as the defending champion. In the 200 m, she finished third in 22.14 s, behind Elaine Thompson-Herah (22.05 s), and Shericka Jackson (21.55 s).


title: Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce

text: At the World Athletics Championships in July, Fraser-Pryce led another Jamaican sweep of the podium for a record-extending fifth 100 m title. Her winning time of 10.67 s was her quickest 100 m in a global final, and broke the championship record of 10.70 s, set in 1999 by Marion Jones. Jackson ran a personal best of 10.73 s for silver, and Thompson-Herah clocked 10.81 s for bronze. The race was one of the fastest in World Championships history—seven of the eight finalists dipped under 11 seconds and achieved best-ever marks for fourth, sixth and seventh. Fraser-Pryce's win came almost 14 years after her first global 100 m title, making her the oldest ever world champion in any individual track event. Jamaica also claimed the top two positions in the world 200 m final, with Fraser-Pryce earning silver in 21.81 s behind Jackson's 21.45 s. In the 4 × 100 m relay final, the U.S. team defeated Jamaica in an upset, winning gold in 41.14 s ahead of Jamaica's 41.18 s.


title: Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce

text: After the World Championships, Fraser-Pryce continued her form throughout the season. On August 6, she ran a new world leading 10.66 s at the Kamila Skolimowska Memorial in Poland, followed by a 10.67 s at the Gyulai István Memorial in Hungary two days later. On August 10, she again lowered her world lead to 10.62 s at the Monaco Diamond League, running her third 10.6 in a 5-day span, and defeating Jackson and Marie-Josée Ta Lou of the Ivory Coast. After finishing second to Jackson at the Memorial Van Damme (her only 100 m loss of the year), she capped her season at the Diamond League final in Zurich, winning her fourth 100 m Diamond trophy in a meeting record 10.65 s.


title: Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce

text: Fraser-Pryce ended the season as the number-one overall female athlete across all disciplines, according to World Athletics. She ran 100 m times of 10.62, 10.65, 10.66, 10.67 on four occasions, and 10.70 s, recording the eight fastest times of the year. She's the first woman to break 10.70 s seven times in a single season and nine total times in their career. No other woman has run sub-10.70 s more than four times in their career. In the 200 m, she recorded two of the ten fastest times of the year, and was the number-three ranked female sprinter over the distance in 2022.


title: Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce

text: Fraser-Pryce is widely recognized as one of the greatest sprinters of all time. In 2022, British sports radio station TalkSPORT ranked her as the greatest female sprinter of the 21st century and the fourth greatest overall female athlete, behind Brazilian soccer player Marta, American gymnast Simone Biles and tennis player Serena Williams. The second fastest woman alive, the Olympic Channel also referred to Fraser-Pryce as "the most successful female sprinter in history". "Track & Field News" listed her at number one on their annual world 100 m rankings in 2008, 2012, 2013, 2015 and 2019 (she also appeared in the top 10 in 2009, 2011, 2016 and 2021). In the 200 m, they ranked her at number two in 2012 and number one in 2013. In 2020, they ranked her as the top female 100 m sprinter of the 2010s decade, as well as the fifth greatest in the 200 m. She was also ranked at number two in the 100 m for the 2000s decade. Sean Ingle of "The Guardian" lauded her achievements after the 2019 World Championships, stating that she had "legitimate claim to be considered the greatest ever." After her record-extending fifth 100 m world title in 2022, he asked, "Who would now dare doubt that she is the greatest female sprinter of them all?" In 2019, she was listed among BBC's 100 inspiring and influential women in the world. In 2020, after her maternity leave and return, World Athletics included her on their list of the 10 greatest comebacks in track and field.


title: Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce

text: Fraser-Pryce has been praised for her consistency at major championships. Of the 10 Olympic or World 100 m titles she contested between 2008 and 2022, she has won seven gold medals, a silver and a bronze. Of the four 200 m titles she contested, she has won gold and silver at the World Championships, as well as an Olympic silver medal. In 2014, her then coach Stephen Francis stated that she had "mastered the trick of staying good," adding, "It’s far easier to get good than to stay good... a lot of natural factors mitigate against you staying at number one, but [she has] developed a mindset that keeps her where she is."


title: Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce

text: As of September 2022, Fraser-Pryce has run the most sub-10.70 s times with nine, the most sub-10.80 s times with 29, the most sub-10.90 s times with 51, and the most sub-11 s times with 76. She has won all of her global championship titles with sub-10.80 or sub-10.70 performances. In a single season, she has tallied the most sub-10.70 s clockings (seven in 2022), ahead of Elaine Thompson-Herah (four in 2021) and Florence Griffith Joyner (three in 1988). She's also registered the most sub-10.80 s clockings in a single season (nine in 2022), tied with Marion Jones (nine in 1998), and ahead of Elaine Thompson-Herah (eight in 2021). With her personal best of 10.60 s, set in 2021 at the age of 34, Fraser-Pryce is the third fastest woman of all time and the fastest mother in history. In 2019 she became the fourth mother to win a global 100 m title, joining Americans Gwen Torrence and Wilma Rudolph, as well as Dutch sprinter Fanny Blankers-Koen. With her fifth world title, Fraser-Pryce also extended her lead over Usain Bolt and Americans Carl Lewis and Maurice Greene, who each have three World Championship titles in the 100 m.


title: Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce

text: Despite her success, her profile on a global scale during her early career was largely eclipsed by countryman Usain Bolt. On the eve of the 2016 Olympics, "The Washington Post" alluded to this disparity with the headline "A Jamaican will go for a third gold medal in Rio — and it’s not who you think." Likewise, CNN wrote that Fraser-Pryce had matched Bolt "medal for medal over 100 m" at each global championship, but "somehow, that isn't common knowledge." While critical of the gender gap in athletics, Fraser-Pryce insisted that she has never felt overshadowed. She also asserted that the near-unattainable women's 100 m world record and the lack of consistently fast times in women's sprinting contributed to the imbalance: "I have always said it's a man's world...[but] when you have male athletes [running]... 9.5s as opposed to female athletes running 10.8s, there is no 'wow' to the event." In 2019, sports writer Steve Keating declared Fraser-Pryce the new face of athletics, stating that the birth of her son and her determination to return to the top added to her legacy.


title: Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce

text: After her triple gold medal win at the 2013 World Championships, Fraser-Pryce stated that fellow athletes were critical of her success, with some suggesting that she had used performance-enhancing drugs. Although she achieved world-leading times in both the 100 m and 200 m in 2013, she denied using banned substances, pointing out that her times have been consistent with previous seasons. In November 2013, she threatened to boycott international competitions, citing the lacklustre approach of Jamaica's Athletics Administrative Authority in defending Jamaican athletes against such "hurtful" accusations.


title: Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce

text: In 2019, Fraser-Pryce published the children's book "I Am a Promise", based on the life lessons she learned growing up and competing as an athlete.


title: Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce

text: In 2008, Fraser-Pryce was honoured with the Order of Distinction for her achievements in athletics. In October 2018, she was also honoured with a statue at the Jamaica National Stadium in Kingston, Jamaica. During the ceremony, Minister of Sports Olivia Grange hailed her a role model for young girls and a Jamaican "modern-day hero." In 2022, Fraser-Pryce's Order of Distinction was upgraded to Order of Jamaica, which she received "for outstanding performance in the field of Athletics at the


title: Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce

text: International Level." In December of 2022, The Penwood Church of Christ Early Childhood Institution, which she attended, was renamed The Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce Early Childhood Institution, in her honor.


title: Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce

text: The recipient of many accolades in Jamaica, she has won the JAAA's Golden Cleats Award for Female Athlete of the Year four times: 2009, 2012, 2013 and 2015. She has also received the Jamaican Sportsperson of the Year award four times: 2012, 2013, 2015 and 2019.


title: Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce

text: On the international scene, she has been nominated for the Laureus World Sports Award for Sportswoman of the Year five times: 2010, 2013, 2014, 2016 and 2019. After she completed the sprint triple at the 2013 Moscow World Championships, she was named IAAF World Female Athlete of the Year, becoming the first Jamaican woman to win since Merlene Ottey in 1990. In accepting her award, she exclaimed, "I'm shocked and excited. It's something that has been a dream of mine." In December 2019, she won Best Female Athlete at the inaugural Panam Sports Awards.


title: Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce

text: Under the guidance of her coach Stephen Francis, and later Reynaldo Walcott, Fraser-Pryce honed her technique to become one of the most decorated track athletes of all time. She stated that none of her technique came naturally, and that when she began competing, she ran with an exaggerated forward lean: "I had a really bad running posture, like I ran, literally, dropping on my face. Stephen saw all of this and, as a coach, he analyzed and he took a year to actually go through my core needs." By 2008, she had improved her posture and sharpened her start, including her first stride, the placement of her arms and the different phases of the sprint. Over time, her technique became second nature: "You feel all of your phases, like a sixth sense. So I focus on nailing each phase properly, and if I’m able to, then I know that’s history.”


title: Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce

text: Fraser-Pryce's trademark is her explosive starts, which earned her the nickname "Pocket Rocket." Her style involves “bolting to the lead” within her first few strides, then "maintaining her position through to the finish.” Jon Mulkeen of World Athletics described her starting technique as "devastating...her best weapon," while sports writer Steve Landells declared, "her ability to shift her legs over the first five metres remains the envy of the world." In a biomechanical analysis of her performance in the 2009 world 100 m final (when she ran 10.73 s), sports scientists Rolf Graubner and Eberhard Nixdorf calculated her 30 m split at 4.02 s, a level of acceleration consistent with a male 10.40 s runner. American sprinter Carmelita Jeter, who took the bronze in that race, stated, "I won't lie, I was startled by [Fraser-Pryce]. She was several steps ahead of me before I had even cleared the blocks." Despite her quick starts, Fraser-Pryce said, "I think my strength is actually when I get out of my drive phase at 30 (metres). My second 30 is actually very good, where my turnovers are very quick." In her 2019 world 100 m final (when she ran 10.71 s), Fraser-Pryce covered the first 60 m in 6.81 s, the fastest 60 m split of all time, and over one-tenth of a second faster than the 60 m world record of 6.92 s, held by Russian sprinter Irina Privalova.


title: Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce

text: At just over 5 feet tall, Fraser-Pryce is more petite than most female sprinters. She recalled that when she started training at the University of Technology, "everyone [said] I was too short and I shouldn't think about running fast." A prototypical stride rate runner, she relies on cadence and a high stride frequency in her races. On average, she takes 50 strides to complete the 100 m, and has a cadence of about 286 steps per minute. In their analysis, Graubner and Nixdorf found that she covered her 2009 final in 49.58 strides — equivalent to an average of two metres per step, with her longest strides of 2.2 m exhibited over the last 20 m of her race. Her peak stride frequency occurred between the 20 and 40 m mark, averaging around 4.91 hertz (i.e. 4.91 stride cycles per second).


title: Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce

text: After switching coaches in 2020, Fraser-Pryce began to make “subtle” changes to her technique, which improved her 100 m personal best from 10.70 s to 10.60 s, and her 200 m personal best from 22.09 s to 21.79 s. Before training with Walcott, she stated that she was "more focused about [leg] turnover" and having an explosive start, and less concerned about "having big strides and maintaining towards the end [of her races]". However, Walcott's program built on her foundations from MVP, with additional focus on improving her endurance, increasing her stride length, and speed maintenance at the end of her races. These adjustments to her mechanics helped her to become more confident in her technique and more patient in her race execution.


title: Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce

text: In November 2012, Fraser-Pryce graduated from the University of Technology with a Bachelor of Science in Child and Adolescent Development. In 2016, she announced that she would pursue a Master of Science in Applied Psychology at the University of the West Indies. A committed Christian, she married Jason Pryce in 2011, and announced her pregnancy in early 2017. On her Facebook page she wrote, "All my focus heading into training for my 2017 season was on getting healthy and putting myself in the best possible fitness to successfully defend my title in London 2017, but ... here I am thinking about being the greatest mother I can be." On 7 August 2017, she and her husband welcomed a son named Zyon.


title: Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce

text: Fraser-Pryce has signed sponsorship deals with Digicel, GraceKennedy and Nike. To promote her chase for Olympic glory in 2016, Nike released a series of promotional videos of her training sessions for the 100 m.


title: Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce

text: Fraser-Pryce has supported many causes throughout her career. She was named as the first UNICEF National Goodwill Ambassador for Jamaica in February 2010. That year, she was also named Grace Goodwill Ambassador for Peace in a partnership with Grace Foods and not-for-profit organisation PALS (Peace and Love in Society). She also created the Pocket Rocket Foundation, which supports high school athletes in financial need.


title: Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce

text: Known for frequently changing her hairstyle during track season, she launched a hair salon named Chic Hair Ja in 2013.


title: Crossword

text: A crossword is a word puzzle that usually takes the form of a square or a rectangular grid of white- and black-shaded squares. The goal is to fill the white squares with letters, forming words or phrases, by solving clues which lead to the answers. In languages that are written left-to-right, the answer words and phrases are placed in the grid from left to right ("across") and from top to bottom ("down"). The shaded squares are used to separate the words or phrases.