Jamaica’s Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce has become the second-fastest woman of all time after recording a time of 10.63 seconds at the 100 metres national trials warm-up event in Kingston.The 34-year-old’s time bettered the 10.72 seconds run by US sprinter Sha’Carri Richardson earlier this year and is an improvement on the 10.70 personal best she set back in 2012.Only America’s Florence Griffith-Joyner has registered a faster time, having run a world-record 10.49 seconds in 1988, a year before retiring.Fraser-Pryce has long been considered up there with the finest sprinters of this generation and is one of the most decorated athletes in history, having won two Olympic gold medals and nine World Championship golds.Here are five things you need to know about the track and field icon:
The first Caribbean woman to win Olympic gold
Fraser-Pryce burst onto the scene in 2008, running her first-ever sub-11 second time of 10.85 in the Jamaican Olympic trials.
Later that summer, the sprinter finished first in Beijing to secure her first Olympic gold medal, ahead of fellow compatriots Sherone Simpson and Kerron Stewart.
It was also the second-fastest time in Olympic history at the time and followed the success of Usain Bolt from the night before in the Bird’s Nest.
Defending her title in London
Four years later, the Jamaican repeated her heroics, going better than her 10.78 time in Beijing, by registering a 10.75 as six competitors placed under 11 seconds in the final.
With the win, Fraser-Pryce joined Americans Wyomia Tyus and Gail Devers as the only women to defend an Olympic 100 metre title.
At the same Games, the six-time Olympic medallist won silver in the 200 metres, finishing narrowly behind US star Allyson Felix.
2013 World Athlete of the Year
In 2013, Fraser-Pryce swept 100, 200 and 4 x 100-metre golds at the World Championships in Moscow, becoming the first woman to do so.
On top of this, the 34-year-old recorded the three fastest 100-metre times of 2013 and the two quickest 200 metre runs as well.
Her consistently brilliant performances all season saw her named the IAAF World Athlete of the Year and the second Jamaican to win the award after Merlene Ottey in 1990.
Oldest female springer to win World Championship gold
At the 2019 World Championships in Doha, Fraser-Pryce cruised to victory in the heats and set the fastest first-round time in history with a 10.80.
In the final, the Jamaican went even better, registering a 10.71 –– her fastest time since 2013.
The time also saw her clinch a fourth World Championship as she became the oldest woman to win a 100-metre global title and the first mother since Gwen Torrence in 1995.
Retirement in 2022
Fraser-Pryce has announced she’ll retire after the 2022 World Championships.
There is still time for her to add to her remarkable collection of medals, though, many already regard her as the most successful female sprinter in history.
Her time in Kingston now makes her the fastest living woman alive and if her recent performances are anything to go by, the all-time world record appears to be in sight.