Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce expressed gratitude at an event celebrating her career as she heads into her final Jamaican Championships this week before she retires later this year.
Fraser-Pryce, whose seven combined Olympic and world 100m titles are the most in history, previously announced that 2025 will be her final season at age 38.
“In the next two days, it will be my final time gracing the National Stadium, and, honestly, it’s one of those moments that I’m looking forward to,” she said in a speech Monday nightthree days before the start of nationals. “You know why? Because I have absolutely nothing to lose and all to gain. Because it is your love and it’s your support and it’s your encouragement that has kept me. It is the ways you have celebrated me. It is the ways you have shown up for me.
“And as I stand on the track in the next two days, it’s not just about the track, but it’s what’s possible. It’s how we continue to shift and change the narrative around female elite sprinting. It’s about your time, honoring your time. It’s knowing what you want and going the distance for that.”
Fraser-Pryce grew up in the Waterhouse neighborhood of Kingston, sharing one bed with her mom and two brothers and running barefoot until a teacher bought her spikes in grade six.
“It is my mandate to make sure that every single student at the primary level in this country will never run barefoot at the National Stadium,” Fraser-Pryce said, mentioning her foundation. “When I stand on that track on Thursday, it’s not for me. It’s for you, for the love, for the support, for the encouragement, for the resilience, for the pride, for the purpose and the passion that you have given me. You have inspired me.”
At nationals, it’s likely that the top three finishers in the 100m final on Friday will make the team to run the individual event at September’s World Championships in Tokyo, plus more for the 4x100m relay pool.
Melissa Jefferson-Wooden ran personal bests in the 100m and the 200m at Grand Slam Track Philadelphia.
