Having won every sprint medal at the Olympics and the World Championships, Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce has one last ambition – retire from the sport after making the team for Paris 2024.
The Jamaican, who has dominated women’s sprinting for the last 15 years, has her mind on the 2023 Worlds in Budapest where she could win her sixth Championship title, but her main goal is to qualify for her fifth Olympics.
In an interview with NBC Sports, the eight-time Olympic medallist also reaffirmed her desire to be the fastest woman ever.
“I want to run 10.5 or 10.4,” she said of her plans to better her personal best of 10.60 seconds, which makes her the third-fastest woman behind American world record holder Florence Griffith-Joyner who dashed to 10.49 in 1988, and her compatriot Elaine Thompson-Herah who is second fastest with 10.54 seconds.
“I’m working towards that, but I also don’t want it to be the end-all, be-all. If it doesn’t happen, I’ll be satisfied knowing that I gave 100 per cent towards that effort. I don’t want to limit myself. I want to think about potential and where I can go with that.”
Fraser-Pryce wants to race in Paris not only as a last farewell but also to motivate younger female athletes.
“Yes, 2024 will definitely be my last Olympics.”- Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce to NBC Olympics
“It would be remarkable not just for me but for other young athletes that are watching,” said Fraser-Pryce, who at 21 was the youngest of the finalists at her first Olympics at Beijing 2008.
“Some of us are late bloomers. Some people make their first Olympic team at 30, so it’s about defying those odds and showing people that you can do anything, and age is just a number. Nobody gets to choose your path or tell you when to start or stop but you.”
“My coaches and teammates keep telling me that I have another 10 years left,” she continued.
“I don’t know about all of that but having those people around me keeps me young and energised. At the end of the day, I have a dream that I really believe in. I know I’m not being forced to be here. I want to be here.”
The 13-time world championshipmedallist won back-to-back 100m gold medals at Beijing 2008 and London 2012 Olympics and returned to competition even stronger following the birth of her son in 2017. She won her fourth 100m world title at Doha 2019 after what she described as a long journey mentally and physically.
“My confidence comes from God. I’ve always believed the word of God, and when He says that I am fearfully and wonderfully made, I believe those things. I believe when He says that He who has begun a good work in me will see it through to the very end,” said the Jamaican sprint legend.
“What He starts, He finishes. Those are the things that I forever hold on to. It’s in the foundation of everything I do. I’m also very stubborn. I don’t take no for an answer. I’m very competitive, and I’m not leaving until I get my way. It’s who I am.”