Online Reporter
GRATEFUL. Blessed. Privileged.
Those were the words that Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce used repeatedly as she made slow progress through the media mixed zone after her eighth and last 100m final at the World Athletics Championships.
For once, the woman widely regarded as the greatest female sprinter the world has seen wanted to take it slow — outside of those 11 seconds when she was in race mode.
After 18 years as one of the world’s fastest women, the 38-year-old Jamaican was entitled to take her time.
“I felt the love, I felt the support,” she said. “To have that reception was truly wonderful.”
The woman once known as the “Pocket Rocket”, but more recently as “Mommy Rocket” following the birth of her son Zyon in 2017, was determined to finish on a high note.
She accomplished that by reaching the 100m final in Tokyo, having the chance to say farewell to a sell-out crowd of 60 000 people in the Japan National Stadium and millions more watching around the world.
That she finished sixth in her last individual race did not matter to the fans although, competitive to the end, the five-time world 100m champion was hoping for a better placing.
However, 18 years of pushing her body to the limit gave her perspective on her career.
“Tonight, I am really grateful that I was able to stand on the track one more time in the 100m finals,” she said. “It has been such a privilege, an honour, and my greatest blessing to stand here tonight.
“I came into this championship with so many odds, but I made the final. And I think that is a huge accomplishment. I remember in 2007 when I started, I was unsure what I wanted to do, but I walked away with so much from the championship. This time around, I came with all those experiences from years of participating in the champion-ships.”
Fraser-Pryce does not reach five feet tall (1.52m) but she overcame childhood disadvantage to become a giant of her sport.
Her resume includes 10 gold medals, six silver medals and one bronze medal from nine editions of the World Championships and she boasts an unprecedented five 100m titles, from 2009, 2013, 2015, 2019 and 2022.
Her Olympic record is also formidable — three gold medals and eight medals in total, including consecutive 100m titles in Beijing in 2008 and London in 2012.
Even Usain Bolt was feeling inadequate after watching Fraser-Pryce compete in Tokyo, and wondering if perhaps he had retired too early at 31. “I’m just so impressed with her work rate,” he said, “and how long she’s been doing it — and the level she’s been doing it at.”
Now Fraser-Pryce is vacating the scene, but she is confident that she has passed the baton to a new generation of Jamaican sprinters, exemplified by 21-year-old Tina Clayton, the two-time world U20 champion who broke through to win 100m silver in Tokyo. — worldathletics.org
