Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce
Shellly-Ann Fraser, OD (born December 27, 1986)[1] is a Jamaican sprinter, who specializes in the 100 m. Born in Kingston, Jamaica, Fraser is the reigning Olympic champion and World champion over 100 metres, clocking a time of 10.78[2] and 10.73 respectively. She is the only female sprinter to hold both World and Olympic 100m titles simultaneously, and is tied with Christine Arron as the fourth fastest woman in history over 100 metres.[3] She attended the Wolmer's High School for Girls and represented her school in many athletic occasions.
2008 Beijing Olympics
Fraser, who trained for the Olympics with teammate Asafa Powell, became the first Jamaican woman in history to win an Olympic gold medal in the 100 metres sprint. In her first round heat, she placed first in a time of 11.35 to advance to the second round. She then improved her time to 11.06 seconds, finishing first in her heat. In the semifinals Fraser again finished in front, outsprinting Muna Lee and Lauryn Williams in 11.00 seconds.
In the final, Jamaican sprinters finished in the top three positions in the race, with a photographic tie for second place by Sherone Simpson and Kerron Stewart. (Both women were awarded silver medals; no bronze medal was awarded.) Fraser's time of 10.78 seconds was a personal best and 0.20 seconds faster than her Jamaican teammates.[4] Fraser's Olympic time was the second-fastest 100 metres ever recorded by a Jamaican woman, a mere 0.04 seconds (1/25 of a second) shy of Merlene Ottey's 10.74 record.[1]
Together with Sheri-Ann Brooks, Aleen Bailey and Veronica Campbell-Brown, Fraser also took part in the 4×100 meters relay. In its first round heat, Jamaica placed first in front of Russia, Germany and China. The Jamaica relay's time of 42.24 seconds was the first time overall out of sixteen participating nations. With this result, Jamaica qualified for the final, replacing Brooks and Bailey with Simpson and Stewart. Jamaica did not finish the race due to a mistake in the baton exchange.[4]
2009 Berlin World Championships
Fraser took the 100 m Jamaican title in June 2009, winning with a world-leading time of 10.88 s against a strong headwind (-1.5 m/s). This made her the number one Jamaican qualifier for the 2009 World Championships.[5] Fraser took full advantage, holding off a late surge (and personal best) from compatriot Kerron Stewart who had a slow start to win by two one-hundredths of a second in a time of 10.73. - the fourth fastest time in the event's history and a Jamaican national record.
2010
Fraser was named as the first Goodwill Ambassador for UNICEF Jamaica on February 22nd.[6]
References
- ^ a b Fraser Expects Great Results in 100 Metres, Jamaica Observer, 13. Aug. 2008
- ^ Jamaica's Shelly-Ann Fraser wins Women's 100m Olympic gold
- ^ "Smiling Fraser just loves to make Jamaica happy". (2009-08-18). International Association of Athletics Federations. Retrieved 2009-08-18.
- ^ a b Athlete biography: Shelly-Ann Fraser, beijing2008.cn, ret: Aug 27, 2008
- ^ Foster, Anthony (2009-06-28). Bolt 9.86 and Fraser 10.88; Walker and Phillips excel over hurdles - JAM Champs , Day 2. IAAF. Retrieved on 2009-06-28.
- ^ Shelly-Ann Fraser named UNICEF ambassador
External links
|
|
