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Despite expectations of her retiring when she became a mother, Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce proved her doubters wrong with her best career years after having her son Zyon.
Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce is arguably the greatest female sprinter in history, and after 37 years doing the sport she loves, the track legend announced she will retire at the Paris Olympics.
The five-time world champion whose career has spanned over a decade and a half, made her retirement plans public in an exclusive interview with Essence magazine, where she spoke on her life as Jamaica's favourite female athlete.
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“My son needs me. My husband and I have been together since before I won in 2008. He has sacrificed for me. We’re a partnership, a team. I think I now owe it to them to do something else,” she said as her reason for retiring.
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10:11 - 09.02.2024
One last dance! Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce announces retirement after Paris Olympic Games
Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce will cap off her iconic 16 years glorious career after the Paris Olympic Games.
Fraser-Pryce will then open up on the sole aim of coming back better after becoming a mother at 30.
“When I turned 30, there were just so many things in my head to discourage me. It wasn’t even like I was trying to prove anyone wrong. I was just trying to prove myself right that I could do this. I know God has given me this ability, and I know what I’m able to do, and I believe that I can do great things," said Fraser-Pryce in an exclusive interview with The Players' Tribune.
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"I had to take it to another level. I had to believe more in who I was and think less about what people expect. Because they probably think, Oh, she had a baby, she just turned 30, maybe it’s time for her to put it down," she added.
"But I wanted to break the 11-second barrier, and I did that. I wanted to run below 22 seconds in the 200 meters, and I did that. I’m just so grateful to have been able to accomplish those dreams in my life.
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21:00 - 06.03.2024
Sha'Carri Richardson and Fraser-Pryce: Fans pick duo ahead of Thompson-Herah and Jackson to headline Paris Olympic campaign
Sha'Carri Richardson, Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce, Elaine Thompson-Herah, and Shericka Jackson. Fans make their choice on who they want to headline a Paris Olympics campaign.
"I’ll be honest, these Olympics didn’t go the way I’d wanted them to. I wanted to become the first woman to win three gold medals in the 100 meters, and unfortunately, that didn’t happen this time. But God’s will always prevails, and Elaine was able to bring home the gold for our country.
"At the end of the day, I’m still proud. Everything I had, I gave it."
The comeback after becoming a mother at 30
Fraser-Pryce dominated the female athletics sprinting scene from 2008 to 2017 when she became pregnant with her son Zyon. Despite expectations of her retiring after becoming a mother, she publicly promised a major comeback.
The inspiring speedster did make an iconic comeback in 2019 by winning her fourth 100m world title in a world-leading 10.71 s—her fastest time since 2013. Also, she became the oldest woman (32 years) in history and the first mother since Gwen Torrence at the 1995 World Championships to claim a 100m global title.
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Fraser-Pryce will follow this up with an Olympic bronze in Tokyo and more astonishingly, a record-extending fifth world title at the 2022 World Championships in Eugene, Oregon. Her win came almost 14 years after her first global 100m title, making her the oldest-ever world champion in any individual track event.
According to World Athletics, Fraser-Pryce ended the year 2022 as the number-one overall female athlete. 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, thus became the first woman to break 10.70s seven times in a single season and nine total times in their career.
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02:13 - 10.02.2024
Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce: 7 legendary races she engraved her name in the history books
Having made it public that her lauded career will end at Paris Olympic Games, here's a look at 7 legendary races Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce wrote her name in the history books.
In 2023, she won a 100m bronze medal at the World Championships in Budapest, and the Paris Olympics will be her Last Dance competitively on the track.
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