Jamaica swept the race again!
Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce set a new personal best, winning her fifth 100m world title, CNN reports.
Fraser-Pryce won her first 100m race at the World Championships 13 years ago, never imagining she’d still be going strong all these years later. In 2017, the track star had an emergency C-section while giving birth to her son Zyon, taking two years off to recover and focus on raising her son. While there were talks of what her comeback would look like, Fraser-Pryce has continued to prove doubters wrong, getting better and better with each race. This past weekend, she won her fifth 100m World title, finishing at a record time of 10.67 seconds, her fastest run to date. The track-and-field athlete said it is her unstoppable drive that keeps her going and this latest win is by far her favorite.
“It’s my favorite world title – doing it at 35, yes, I said 35. Whenever I’m healthy, I’m going to compete. I’m hungry, I’m driven and I always believe I can run faster and I’m not going to stop until I stop believing that,” she told reporters.
After winning her race, she was followed across the finish line by Shericka Jackson, who won silver, and Elaine Thompson-Herah, who won bronze. All three of the women are representing Jamaica and this isn’t the first time the island has swept the race. The trio also made a clean sweep of the medals at Tokyo 2020, Fraser-Pryce landing in at second that time.
Her goal is to be a role model to inspire other women, speaking transparently about the sacrifices she’s made and the obstacles she had to overcome. Despite it all, she’s persisted and she encourages other women to do the same.
“It’s not easy, I don’t just turn up. I have to work. I can’t even imagine the amount of times I’ve had setbacks and I’ve bounced back and I’m here again. To continue to do it at 35, having a baby, still going – hopefully, I’m inspiring women that they can make their own journey,” said Fraser-Pryce.
Congratulations, Shelly-Ann on setting another record!
Photo Courtesy of Getty Images/CNN