By Anthony Foster, TrackAlerts.Com Writer
Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce continued to stamp her class as a true professional, not only on the track, but also when confronted with some tough and searching questions from the media.
Over the years, the debate as to who is Jamaica’s real sprint queen – Veronica Campbell-Brown or Fraser-Pryce, remains for some, arguable.
Campbell-Brown, who dominated throughout her career from the Youth level to the Olympic Games, has won 22 gold medals in the process for Jamaica.
Fraser-Pryce, who enjoyed very little, if anything, at the junior level, has, thus far, pocketed seven gold medals in the Senior ranks, for Jamaica.
VCB has won back-to-back Olympic Games 200m titles (Athens and Beijing) while Fraser-Pryce won hers at that elite level, in Beijing and London. The ‘’Pocket Rocket’’ took the World Championships 100m titles in Berlin and Moscow…add to the latter the 200m title.
The Claude Bryan-steered, VCB, despite not taking the World Championships sprint double, won the 100m in Osaka, ‘07 and 200m in Daegu, ‘11.
It’s behind these statistics, the public always views Fraser-Pryce vs VCB as big rivalry, and journalists asking the winner, questions such as “was that a message sent”?
Fraser-Pryce to that question, laughed before saying, “Its not an e-mail, so there is no message that is being sent.”
“I just came out here to execute my race and just take it from there," she explained, after running a world leading 10.79 seconds to win the Jamaica Trials on Friday (26 June)…” She was the only woman to run sub-11 as Natasha Morrison 11.03 and VCB 11.06 were second and third respectively.
“There are many races to get to the World Championships, so nothing is given, nothing is put out there for you to get, you have to go claim it, you have to go work for it, so as I said, there is no proving anything, everything I do is for His glory and that’s where it ends,” emphasised Fraser-Pryce.
The MVP TC lady, added that she will now turn her attention to the women’s 200m, which will have its first round on Saturday. “Yes, I am competing in the 200m…”
Asked if she will defend her sprint double title in Beijing, she replied, “That’s not a decision that has been finalized, but so far I am working with the coach, so if he says Shelly-Ann you doing the 200m, then I am doing it.”
She also commented on her fitness, especially since she had pulled out of one meet earlier this month.
“Physically I am good, I am fine, I am just looking forward to the rest of the Championships and also just trying to execute some races.”
