Shericka Jackson receives an honorary doctorate from the University of Technology (UTech) in Jamaica
Jamaica's two-time 200m world champion recognised for "her phenomenal achievements in sprinting and her contribution to nation building" on Saturday (19 November).
Athletics
Two-time 200m world champion Shericka Jackson can add another prefix before her name after she was conferred with an honorary Doctor of Laws degree by the University of Technology (UTech) in Jamaica on Saturday (19 November).
The honorary doctorate adds to a growing list of accolades for the Jamaican blitz who raced to back-to-back world 200m titles in Budapest, Hungary this year. She has demonstrated unrivalled range across all three sprint distances – 100m, 200m and 400m – over the last seven years.
“In recognition of her phenomenal achievements in sprinting and her contribution to nation building, UTech, Jamaica will confer Shericka Jackson with the Doctor of Laws Honoris Causa (Hon. LLD),” the UTech said in a statement.
Jackson, who is studying for a Bachelor's in Sports Science trains under legendary Jamaican coach Stephen Francis with the MVP Track Club which is based at UTech.
Jackson is riding a wave of success which started in Rio 2016 where she won the bronze medal in the 400m before she transitioned into the shorter sprint distances. The shift has paid off in spades with the 29-year-old winning Olympic 100m bronze and 4x100m relay gold at Tokyo 2020.
She officially announced herself as one of the greatest sprinters of all time in 2022 when she won 200m gold in a time of 21.45 seconds, a championship and national record, at the time. In the process, she became the fastest woman alive over the distance, edging closer to Florence Griffith-Joyner’s world record of 21.34 from the Seoul 1988 Olympics.
Jackson raised the bar in 2023, finishing second behind Sha’Carri Richardson in the 100m final before she unleashed her best performance ever in the 200m final. Denied the 100-200m double, Jackson effected revenge on Richardson racing to victory in the half-lap sprint event.
Jackson left the rest of the field in her dust, storming to a second consecutive 200m world title in a time of 21.41s, improving her personal best to get within 0.07s of the fastest-ever time.
She brought her season to an emphatic end at the Diamond League final in Eugene, Oregon where she won the 100m and 200m titles, making her one of only nine athletes in history to do a Diamond League double in one season.
Jackson could add even more bling to her collection after she was named among five nominees for the 2023 Women's World Athlete of the Year award. She goes up against Tigist Assefa (Ethiopia), Femke Bol (Netherlands), Faith Kipyegon (Kenya), and Yulimar Rojas (Venezuela). The World Athletes of the Year will be announced on 11 December as part of the World Athletics Awards 2023.