The queen of the Jamaican track regains her crown. And, even at the great age of 35, Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce somehow continues to find new ways to break records and defy the laws of sports gravity.
The gold here at Eugene was delivered in the classic Fraser-Pryce style. He blew up the blocks, grabbed much faster than his rivals and put the race to bed long before sliding the line at 10.67, well ahead of compatriots Shericka Jackson, who won silver in 10.73, and the Tokyo Olympic champion Elaine Thompson. -Herah, who won bronze in 10.81.
Britain’s Dina Asher-Smith broke her heart and equaled her national record of 10.83, but was only good enough for fourth place. “It sucks,” he admitted. “It was so close.”
But tonight it was Fraser-Pryce who, incredibly, won his first 100-meter Olympic title back in 2008, a day after Usain Bolt crashed into the sports stratosphere.
He has since won world titles in 2009, 2013, 2015, 2019 and now 2022. After the birth of his son Zyon in 2017 through a cesarean section, he was afraid of never regaining his core strengths, let alone go back to your best moment. . Instead, with each passing year, his legend has only grown.
“I hope it proves that age doesn’t change anything,” he said later. “You can be in your 20s, you can be in your 30s and you can still achieve greatness. You just have to compete and trust yourself and your instinct and your instinct.
“I feel lucky to have this talent and to continue to do so at 35, having a baby, it still goes and I hope to inspire women so that they can make their own journey.”
Who would dare doubt now that she is the greatest sprinter of all? Not when that victory made her the first athlete to win five world titles in an individual race event, as well as the oldest world champion on the track, beating Justin Gatlin.
And the most amazing statistic of all? Fraser-Pryce has never run faster in a 100-meter final during his seven overall victories than he did on Sunday night. At 35.
Beynon’s ultra-fast track to Hayward Field is certainly a major factor in this amazing achievement. Like the new super-tip range introduced in 2019, which best sprint coach Lance Baumann estimates is worth about 0.07-0.10 seconds in 100m. In recent years his technique has also improved.
However, when asked about the secret of his success, Fraser-Pryce opted for a simpler explanation. “I’m a competitor,” he replied. “I love to compete.”
Jamaica’s Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce, third from left, crosses the line. Photography: Sam Barnes / Sportsfile / Getty Images
As he celebrated, Asher-Smith tilted his head in lane eight and wondered what it might have been like. She was close to Fraser-Pryce for the first 30m of the race, and still held second place until 25m for the finish, when Jackson overtook her.
Still, the bronze was still on the cards to get to the final steps. But at the time, Thompson-Herah blinded her to lane four, which stormed home to beat her by 0.02.
“I couldn’t see anything in lane eight,” Asher-Smith said later. “This is both positive and negative. You run without the effect of straining, but you can’t see anyone on your shoulder either. It was a good race for me. A very good race. Unfortunately, it was fourth, but the caliber of the final was amazing “.
This is true. Other British sprinter Daryll Neita ran 10.96 in her semi-final and still missed the final.
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When Asher-Smith was asked if Fraser-Pryce was the eldest, he nodded. “Probably,” she said. “That was phenomenal. 10.67 is a fantastic moment, and in a championship it’s amazing. It’s something that has to be done on time that’s great. Doing it after two more races is amazing.”
The bad news for Fraser-Pryce’s rivals is that she has no plans to relax. Rather, it plans to accelerate.
“I always feel like doing more,” he explained, his words tied with nefarious intent. “Because I think there is more to do. I definitely think I can run faster. And I will not stop until I do. “