Last Sunday (17) at the World Athletics Championships in Eugene, Oregon, it was once again proved that Jamaica is the kingdom of the sprint game when three Jamaican sprinters Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce, Shericka Jackson and Elaine Thompson-Herah won all the Gold, Silver and Bronze medals in the100m women’s final race.
The most extraordinary thing that happened there was that Jamaica’s queen of the track Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce could break two world records becoming the first woman to win five world championship titles as well as the oldest woman to do so – she is 35. Her fifth world title in the 100m is two more than Usain Bolt’s titles which are three.
Fraser-Pryce is a mother of a four-year-old son, Zyon, and she could cross the line in 10.67 seconds in the 100m which was her personal best time in her past seven global victories though it is sixth place in world figures. There Shericka Jackson took Silver medal in 10.73 seconds and Thompson-Herah claimed the Bronze medal in 10.81 seconds.
Not the hot favourite
Before starting the race the hot favourite was Fraser-Pryce’ teammate Elaine Thompson-Herah who is the champion of the 2016 Rio Olympic and 2020 Tokyo Olympic 100m sprints. In Tokyo 2020 (it was held in 2021 due to the Covid-19 pademic), she won the both 100m and 200m races. Therefore, most people believed that this time Thompson-Herah might knock off Florence Griffith-Joyner’s 34-year-old world record of 10.49. And also, less than a year ago, Thomson-Herah had run 10.54 on this very same track in the Prefontaine Classic to join Florence Joyner as the only other woman to go lower than 10.6. Fraser-Pryce has also run exactly 10.6 before, and Marion Jones set an old mark of 10.70 in 1999 world championship games.
However, Fraser-Pryce adds this new title to her other world titles which include 100m world champion in 2009, 2013, 2015 and 2019. She first came into the limelight when she won 100m sprint at the Beijing Olympic Games in 2008, a day after Usain Bolt gatecrashed into the sporting stratosphere. Then, in 2012 she was the champion in 100m in the London Olympic Games. Since then, she has participated in all the world championships and Olympic games while last year she was second to Thompson-Herah in Tokyo Olympics. This last loss to Thompson-Herah in Tokyo affected her very much, and it was discussed after her victory in Eugene:
“I went back home, and I worked and I worked and I came out here, and I had the success.’’
Age doesn’t change anything
In 2017, Fraser-Pryce announced that she was pregnant and that year she gave birth to a son, Zyon, through a caesarean section. At that time, she feared that she would never get her core strength back, let alone return to her best. But with every passing year her legend has only grown.
“I hope it shows that age doesn’t change anything,” she said in her on-track interview in Eugene. “You can be in your 20s, you can be in your 30s, and you can still accomplish greatness. You just have to compete and trust yourself and your instinct and your gut.
“I feel blessed to have this talent and to continue to do it at 35, having a baby, still going, and hopefully inspiring women that they can make their own journey.”
She also remarked the difficulties she faced all those years:
“I can’t even imagine the number of times I’ve had setbacks and bounced back and am here again. I keep reminding myself that sometimes it’s not because you don’t have the ability, but because it’s the right thing to do. It was the right time and I am very, very grateful for the continued support.”
“I am a competitor”
However, it is experts’ view that the ultra-fast Beynon track at Hayward Field is certainly a major factor in her staggering accomplishment. According to The Guradian, another factor is new range of super spikes introduced in 2019, which top sprint coach Lance Baumann reckons are worth around 0.07-0.10 sec over 100m. And her technique has also got even better too in recent years.
When asked about the secret of her success, Fraser-Pryce opted for a simpler explanation. “I am a competitor,” she replied. “I love to compete.”
Other athletes’ views
After the race, Thompson-Herah who claimed third place, expressed mixed emotions.
“It means a lot to us. We have been working hard,’’ she said. “One-two-three at the Olympics, and 1-2-3 at championships. Even though I wanted to win, it didn’t work out. But I’m still keeping the journey going.’’
In this race Britain’s Dina Asher-Smith ran her heart out, and equalled her national record of 10.83, but it was only good enough for fourth. “It sucks,” she admitted afterwords. “I was so close.”
Asher-Smith was close to Fraser-Pryce for the first 30m of the race, and still held onto second place until 25m to go when Jackson charged past her. Even so, bronze was still on the cards coming into the final strides. But at that point she was blindsided by Thompson-Herah in lane four, who stormed home to beat her by 0.02.
“I couldn’t see anything from lane eight,” said Asher-Smith. “That’s both a positive and a negative. You run without the effect of tensing up, but also you can’t see anyone on your shoulder. It was a good run from me. A very good run. Unfortunately, it was fourth, but the calibre of the final was amazing.”
As per The Guardian, when Asher-Smith was asked whether Fraser-Pryce was the greatest, she nodded. “Probably,” she said. “That was phenomenal. 10.67 is a fantastic time, and in a championship is amazing. It’s one thing to do in a one-off which is great. To do it on the back of two other races is amazing.”
“I am always hungry to do more”
The bad news for Fraser-Pryce’s rivals is that she has no plans to ease down. Rather, she plans to speed up.
“I am always hungry to do more,” she explained, her words laced with ominous intent. “Because I believe there is more to be done. I definitely believe I can run faster. And I am not going to stop until I do.”
While Fraser-Pryce’s win in Eugene marks the sixth fastest time in history, it also records for the first time in the history of the women’s event that one country (Jamaica) has completed a clean sweep of the medals, with America’s men doing likewise in the 100m event one day earlier (July 16). She also surpassed the oldest ever world champion on the track, America’s Justin Gatlin to claim the first athlete to win five world titles in an individual running event.
Blonde and tinted green hair
Unlike other times, in this championship Shelly Ann-Fraser-Pryce tinted her hair with blonde and green to match her national flag’s colour. So, as she jogged through her victory lap, her tinted hair waved in the breeze which attracted the audience very much. After the race she stopped to take pictures with fans, and they cheered her as loudly as anyone. Fraser-Pryce was all smiles, and it is a different reaction than last year in Tokyo, when she finished second by a sizeable 0.13.
However, all the athletes across the world embarked on congradulating Shelly Ann-Fraser-Pryce for her staggering record. Among them were Usain Bolt, Allyson Felix, Micheal Johnson, Errol Byles and cricketing legend Chris Gayle who is also a Jamaican. Gayle is one of her close friends, and once she learned to play cricket.
Congratulations from the sports world
Devin Heroux tweeted with a photograph of winning Jamaican team:
“The smiles tell the story. Jamaica sweeps the women’s 100m podium for the first time in world athletics championship history. Shelly-Anne- Fraser-Pryce - 10.67 Shericka Jackson - 10.73 Elaine Thompson-Herah - 10.81.”
Victor K Almeida tweeted: “Jamaica becomes the first country in the history of the World Championships in Athletics to sweep medals in the women’s 100m @WCHoregon22 2022 Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce Shericka Jackson Elaine Thompson-Herah.”
Emmanuel Acho wrote in his tweet:
“THE JAMAICAN WOMEN DO IT AGAIN- CLEAN SWEEP in the 100m! 1: SFP 2: Shericka Jackson 3: Elaine Thompson After sweeping last years Olympics the Jamaicans said, we’re back!!!”
Some of the sports institutes that congradulated among others was Athleticsglobe who tweeted:
“Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce is the World 100m Champion for the 5th time!! She stormed to a Championship Record of 10.67s (0.8) to win the title ahead of a very strong Shericka Jackson who ran a big PB of 10.73s while Elaine Thompson-Herah was 3rd in 10.81s JAMAICAN SWEEP!”
Athletics Weekly wrote: “Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce leads a Jamaican clean sweep in the women’s 100m. It’s her fifth 100m world title! Shelly-Ann Fraser Pryce 10.67 (0.8) CR Shericka Jackson 10.73 Elaine Thompson-Herah 10.81 Dina Asher-Smith equals her 100m British record of 10.83 in fourth.”
In this way, the world has begun to appreciate Shelly Ann-Fraser-Pryce’s unbelievable record, and she deserves it more than anything else.
