World's fastest woman Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce has made a colourful statement at the 2022 Track and Field Worlds

In the blur of athletics superstar Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce’s historic fifth 100m title run at the 2022 World Athletics Championships in Eugene, Oregon, there was one thing impossible to miss: her Jamaica-themed yellow and green hair flowing behind her.

“I spend a lot of time, as well, thinking about my hairstyle, what I want to wear and what my colours represent,” Fraser-Pryce told Olympics.com on Wednesday in an exclusive interview. “I'm like, ‘This year, I'm definitely staying away from the blue and the red because of course that's the USA colour. I'm staying away from the red and blue.’”

Instead, she landed on colours that matched her uniform as she led a sweep of the podium in Sunday’s women’s 100m final that saw Shericka Jackson take the silver with Olympic champion Elaine Thompson-Herah grabbing bronze.

“It’s just who I am and celebrating the different things that I do to feel confident and to have a good time. I definitely think, as athletes, we spend so much time, so much of our times training hard and being focused,” said Fraser-Pryce. “So, now, when it's time to go on a track, I want to be happy. I want to be perky, I want to have fun, and I still want to show young girls that it's okay to be different and have your personality and still have fun with it.”

She laughed when asked about the adjustment she made – mid-run – to her hair during the women’s 200m heats earlier this week.

“I actually wasn't panicking, thank god. I started and then my hair went in my face and I'm like, it's one of two things. I either move it, or I end up in another lane, and that would be a disqualification. And I didn't want to have that,” explained Fraser-Pryce.

It did, however, cause a slight change in plans ahead of the finals to which she still qualified easily.

“When I got around back, my coach was like, 'you know that's not happening tomorrow, right?' I was like, 'Sure,’” she laughed. “And, then, I had a wig change to make it shorter and different. But yeah, you know, those things happen in terms of running, but you have to be prepared. It also shows that you can't just be frivolous when it comes to your competition. You just have to be focused and make sure that your hair is to tied back, out of your face and no harm caused.”

As if anything could slow the world’s fastest woman.