by Stuart Weir
Berlin 2009, SAFP, photo by Getty Images/IAAF
London 2012, SAFP, photo by Getty Images/IAAF
Beijing 2015, SAFP, photo by Getty Images/IAAF
Rio 2016, SAFP, photo by Getty Images/IAAF
Rio 2016, exhibit A, SAFP, photo by Getty Images/IAAF
Shelly-Ann’s hair – an historical study
Rio 2016, exhibit B, photo by Getty Images/IAAF
In the Bible we read of Samson whose strength enabled him to do great feats but when his hair was cut off, his strength disappeared. Some athletes talk about putting on their game face; for SAFP it is more about her game hair.
A Relay look, photo by Getty Images/IAAF
She told the media after the 2019 World Championship 100m final: “I just love coloring my hair and using bright colors. For the prelim I had gold but for the final I definitely needed something sweeter”. He added that her withdrawal from the 200 will deprive us – “I was actually planning on changing my hair between each race but I’m not running the 200m now so no-one is going to see the next colour. But I am in the relay, so I will bring a new one out for that.”
The 2013 World Championship saw her pink at the back, unkindly referred to by a British writer as having attached a dead parrot to it. In 2015 it was all about flower-power. In 2016 it was matching the Jamaica tracksuit. And then 2019 – gold, evoking sunshine or a gold medal perhaps? And with “something sweeter” for the final.
And the benefits are available to all. Just pay a visit to her hair salon named Chic Hair Ja,in Kingston and use the Lady Shelly hair-care range.
