Tokyo, Japan – Eighteen (18) years ago, a bright-eyed, promising young sprinter made her debut for Jamaica on anchor in the heats of the IAAF World Championships in Tokyo, Japan. Little did she know that she would be in the conversation as arguably the greatest female sprinter of all time. Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce and her teammates went on to claim a silver medal in the final of that championship.
She was just getting started. The following year, she became the Olympic champion, and the year after, the World Champion. She would repeat the feats many times.
On her final appearance at a World Championship, Fraser-Pryce came full circle at the venue where it all began, signing off in the same event she started her illustrious career. In wet conditions, Fraser-Pryce, Jamaica’s team captain, got her team off to a solid start in the final of the women’s 4x100m final, shrugging off the challenge of sprint double champion Melissa Jefferson-Wooden, and handing off to one of her proteges, Tia Clayton.
Tia was involved in a fierce battle with American relay specialist Twanisha ‘Tee Tee’ Terry, who made ground and came away with a slight advantage. Tia was handing over the baton to her twin sister, Tina. On most occasions, the twins are in sync. However, on this night, the exchange was botched, but it was nevertheless made. The slight glitch cost Jamaica precious fractions of a second, and Tina flew around the bend and closed down her American rival, Kayla White.
Everything was now riding on the final exchange. Team USA’s anchor, Sha’Carri Richardson, whose form at these championships can be described as lukewarm at best, received the baton with a two-metre lead. Jonielle Smith, Jamaica’s anchor, who was not expected to be in the final and only knew of her participation overnight, ran a scorching homestraight and closed the gap like a Texas tornado. Team USA held on for the win in 41.75 seconds to Jamaica’s season’s best of 41.79. It was the third straight victory for Team USA over Jamaica in the last three World Athletics Championships.
“The rain delayed a lot of exchanges from the first one to me,” said Smith. “I feel that’s what cost us the race because we have the leg speed and the confidence. It’s just unfortunate, but at the same time, we got a medal. It could have been worse, so we are grateful and very happy. I think we put on a very good show for Jamaica today, so I’m very proud.”
A calm Fraser-Pryce was in a reflective but optimistic mood. “To be able to hand over to our young upcoming superstars and queens is truly fantastic,” said Fraser-Pryce. “To be able to give them the opportunity to go for gold, because ultimately that’s what I wanted. I wanted to give them a good start because I knew we had a good team and we were contenders. We didn’t win the gold, but we earned a silver medal with a brilliant run. Tonight, the crowd, the Jamaicans that travelled so far to see us, I feel special, I feel honoured to have been able to grace the track. It has been a privilege to finish my career in this way. I give God all the glory.”