Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce sports discipline competed in 200 metres
Biography
Early years
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.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, including a 10.78 s at the London Grand Prix and 10.74 s at the Lausanne Diamond League. 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.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.2020–2021: New coach and Tokyo Olympics
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.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.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.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 moved her ahead of 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. In the 200 m final, Fraser-Pryce placed fourth in 21.94 s, the fastest ever time for that place. In the 4 × 100 m relay final, Jamaica secured gold in a national record 41.02 s, ahead of the U.S. (41.45 s) and Great Britain (41.88 s).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. Motivated by her achievement, Fraser-Pryce said, “Believe it or not I still have not run my best race. I know there is more to give because I still need to work on perfecting my technique.”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 (10.71 s) and Marie-Josée Ta Lou of the Ivory Coast (10.72 s). Fraser-Pryce withdrew from the Lausanne Diamond League at the end of August due to hamstring discomfort, and returned for the Memorial Van Damme a week later, where she finished second to Jackson (10.73 s to 10.74 s) in 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 (her fifth trophy overall) in a meeting record 10.65 s.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 (21.81 s and 21.82 s), and was the number-three ranked female sprinter over the distance in 2022. For her season, Fraser-Pryce won the Laureus World Sports Awards for Sportswoman of the Year.Legacy and achievements
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, as well as gymnast Simone Biles and tennis player Serena Williams, both of the U.S. 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, 2019 and 2022 (she also appeared in the top 10 in 2009, 2011, 2016 and 2021). In the 200 m, they ranked her at number one in 2013, number two in 2012 and 2022, and the top 10 in 2011 and 2019. 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.
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