Jamaican sprint star Shericka Jackson on Flo-Jo’s 200m world record: Anything is possible

It’s been three-and-a-half decades since the 200m world record of Florence Griffith-Joyner was set at the Seoul 1988 Olympics. And for many years since, a vocal group of track fans has claimed beating that mark was an impossible task.

But Jamaica’s Shericka Jackson, who races this month in the 100m and 200m at the Budapest 23 World Athletics Championships, is changing perceptions about just what is possible over the half-lap distance.

She is now the second-fastest female 200m runner in history and the fastest woman over the distance alive today.

With expectations building around just what she is capable of achieving on the athletics track at the upcoming Worlds, in a year where she also holds the 100m world lead (10.65), you might think breaking Flo-Jo’s record would be the main focus of her attention.

Not so for the Jamaican, whose best 200m time of 21.45 is just 0.11 seconds slower than the fastest in history.

“I don’t think I’m one of those athletes who puts the record in the front of my head,” the athlete told Olympics.com in a sponsor event two days before the Worlds begin in Hungary. “Once I execute a good race, anything is possible.”

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Shericka Jackson: “I wrote a time that I want to achieve and if the world record comes, it comes”

As with other athletes, such as Great Britain’s Zharnel Hughes who successfully predicted the British 100m and 200m records he achieved this year, Jackson has adopted the habit of writing down the times she feels she is capable of running.

“Last year, I set my goal for 21.45 and I did achieve that,” she told us. “I wrote a time [this year] that I want to achieve and if the world record comes, it comes. I’m not going to tell you that I want to break the world record every time I step on the track. I’m in pretty good shape, once I execute a good race, anything is possible.”

But Jackson is holding her cards close to her chest when it comes to exactly what time she has set for herself a this year’s Worlds.

“I definitely won’t tell you,” she replied with a laugh when asked what her goal is. “But after I’ve finished competing I’ll definitely post it.”

Shericka Jackson’s transition to the shorter sprints bringing her the recognition she deserves

While Jackson has proven her ability at the highest level, winning Olympic 400m bronze at Rio 2016 as well as 100m bronze and 4x100m gold at Tokyo 2020, before she blazed to gold in the 200m at the 2022 World Championships, she perhaps has not yet enjoyed the level of attention that her fellow Jamaicans Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce and Elaine Thompson-Herah have over recent years.

For Jackson, the reason for that lies in the fact that she was first and foremost known as a 400m runner - a distance that does not garner as much attention as the blue ribband 100m event.

“I don’t know why more people didn’t know I was such a good 400m runner. I think I got a lot of recognition at the Olympic Games, despite never making the 200,” she explained, referring to missing out on the final of the 200m at Tokyo 2020 after slowing at the line in the heat. “I think it’s pretty good, the recognition is there but I think I just have to stay as humble as possible because anything can happen. I’m just enjoying my lane, enjoying the moment.”

Shericka Jackson on the dominance of her country’s women’s sprint team: “It’s just good to be Jamaican”

After years where male sprinters such as Usain Bolt and Yohan Blake were the darlings of the international sprint community, it is the women from the Caribbean nation who have shown themselves to be the greatest athletic force in the country today.

In a recent Olympics.com interview with Bolt to celebrate One Year to Go until Paris 2024, the sprint legend was quick to give a shout-out to the Jamaican women’s sprint team when asked about how he felt about the current state of athletics in his home country, saying: “I think the girls are dominating and showing that they are really are fast and they are doing ever so well.”

And Jackson points to the impressive achievements of her and her fellow female sprinters, such as Fraser-Pryce and Thompson-Herah, as the reason why they deserve such recognition today.

“I’m definitely proud to be part of 1, 2, 3 in 2021 and 1, 2, 3 in 2022,” she said, referring to the sweeps Jamaica achieved in the 100m at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics and Oregon 2022 World Championships.

“It’s definitely good. I’m among the best sprinters and most of the best sprinters are Jamaican. And it’s just good to be Jamaican!”