by Stuart Weir
Murielle Ahoure, Dina Asher-Smith, Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce, photo by Getty Images/ IAAF
Murdering the W100
Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce did not just win the 100m, she dominated it! From running 10.80 in the prelim to 10.81 in the semi-final to 10.71 in the final. 10.71 is one hundredth outside her PR. People on twitter were priding themselves on predicting a low 10.7 in the final. Well that prediction isn’t really Momma Rocket science, is it?
I recall in Lausanne her being asked: “You ran 10.9 in May, 10.8 in June, 10.7 in July – 10.6 in August perhaps? She said in her press conference after the final: “I definitely think I have a 10.6 in me. I don’t know when that will happen but we are definitely working on that. I think I am just at the door and it will open. I think it will come. We have 10 months until Tokyo so I hope we can get it together, my coach and I. Actually my coach believes that I’m not a fully back to where I was but we’re working on it”.
Did you hear that, her coach thinks she hasn’t fully recovered from her childbirth and she has withdrawn from the 200 because she isn’t quite ready for it. Imagine what time she could have run, if she had been fully fit!
Speaking to journalists after the final she admitted to having had doubts as to whether the comeback was possible: “So it was a long journey coming back physically and mentally because I was over 30 and everyone else was running fast. I was worried about whether I was going to come back OK. I heard people said I should call it a day, but I just knew I wasn’t ready to go. I knew I had something left to do. I never lost focus on the goal and the dream. I just really worked hard. My son Zyon has been my source of strength and my inspiration and I continue to work hard for him. Together we have defied logic. Coming back after having a baby and being 32, it’s definitely different. I’m happy that I have had that experience and it certainly made me tougher and stronger. Having Zyon here being able to witness tonight is definitely a moment I’ll cherish. He reminded me of how much I had to work and fight as a woman. The world believes you should wait until you’re finished to have a baby, but I had other plans.
“I had my son by C section which delayed my comeback because I had a period when I couldn’t lift weights for three months. There were days when I had to miss practice because I was hurting or for different things about being a mom. I breast fed my son for 15 months and couldn’t always go to practice. There were so many things that were complicated through having a son but I definitely wouldn’t trade it for anything because it’s definitely made me tougher and stronger.
“The race tonight may have looked easy but it definitely took a lot of mental strength to come out here and deliver. It’s all well and good when you are the favorite but you have to do it when it counts so I’m happy to have come away with the victory. I didn’t get the chance to defend my title in 2017 and here I am now! Tonight was one of those moments I am really proud of because for women in athletics it’s very hard to take a break and come back to sprinting. It took a lot of work and a lot of sacrifice.
She also referred to how her Christian faith is at the centre of what she does: “My faith keeps me going, believing that I am who God says I am and never losing that foundation. I had got a gift but I continue to work hard because is not enough to have a gift you must work and being sure of who you are”.
She mentioned Tokyo and added she thought she had at least two more years at the top. We have not seen the last of this great athlete.
