BLACK SOCIAL HISTORY Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce, OD born December 27, 1986 is a Jamaican track and field sprinter. Born in Kingston, Jamaica, Fraser-Pryce ascended to prominence in the 2008 Olympic Games when at 21 years-old, the then unknown athlete became the first Caribbean woman to win 100 m gold at the Olympics. In 2012, she successfully defended her 100 m title, becoming the third woman—and first non-American—to win two consecutive 100 m events at the Olympics.
The 2009 World Champion over 100 m, Fraser-Pryce is also the second female sprinter to hold both World and Olympic 100 m titles simultaneously (after Gail Devers). Nicknamed the "pocket rocket" for her petite frame (she stands 5 feet tall) and explosive starts, she is ranked fourth on the list of the fastest 100 m female sprinters of all time, with a personal best of 10.70 seconds, set in Kingston, Jamaica in 2012.
2008 Beijing Olympics
Career
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 m 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 Kerron Stewart and Muna Lee 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. Fraser's Olympic time was the second-fastest 100 m ever recorded by a Jamaican woman, a mere 0.04 seconds (1/25 of a second) shy of Merlene Ottey's 10.74 record.
Together with Sheri-Ann Brooks, Aleen Bailey and Veronica Campbell-Brown, Fraser also took part in the 4 x 100 m 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.
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. 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.
She later ran the second leg on the Jamaican 4x 100 m relay team. Fraser ran an outstanding back-straight, outrunning athletes like Chandra Sturrupof the Bahamas, Anne Mollinger of Germany and Kelly-Ann Baptiste of Trinidad and Tobago, with a successful change over to Aleen Bailey. The Jamaican team eventually claimed the gold medal in a time of 42.06 with the Bahamas claiming silver and Germany claiming bronze.
2012 London Olympics
Leading into the 2012 London Olympic Games, Fraser-Pryce improved her national record in the 100 m to 10.70 at the Jamaican Olympic Trials. At the Games, Fraser-Pryce successfully defended her 100 m title, beating American Carmelita Jeter into second place in the final with a time of 10.75 seconds. Fellow Jamaican Veronica Campbell-Brown took bronze.
Fraser-Pryce went on to take silver in the 200 m in a personal best time of 22.09 behind Allyson Felix. She also earned a second silver medal in the 4×100 m relay.
Banned Substance
On May 23, 2009, Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce, Jamaica's first woman to win an Olympic Gold medal in the 100 meters, tested positive in her drug test in Shanghai . Before leaving for Shanghai to compete at the Diamond League in the women's individual 100 meter race, Fraser-Pryce had three teeth filled in Jamaica, causing her toothache pain . In order to avoid withdrawing from her individual race, Fraser-Pryce sought help from the medical officials to cope with the pain . Unfortunately, the medication given to her by the medical officials did not ease the pain of her toothache . And so, Fraser-Pryce considered withdrawing from the Diamond League meet in Shanghai once again . Stephen Francis, her world renowned coach, urged her to stay entered and run the race despite her tooth pain. Francis convinced Fraser-Pryce to take a painkiller that he was taking for his Kidney Stones (. Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce was later drug tested and the test came back positive. She failed her dug test due to the painkillers her coach gave her . The painkillers were narcotics called Oxycodone . Oxycodone is an opioid pain medication that is used to treat pain on scale from moderate to severe pain . Oxycodone is a banned substance in the International Association of Athletics Federation (IAAF) . As a result, Fraser-Pryce was provisionally suspended in June 2009. The IAAF confirmed that she could not return to competition until January 7, 2010).
Fraser-Pryce took the painkiller, not realizing that it contained a banned substance. Despite the devastating consequences of her six month ban at age 23, Fraser-Pryce refuses to blame Stephen Francis for giving her the banned substance . Although she felt that her reputation was tarnished, she takes full responsibility for her actions. She says, "I'm a professional athlete. One who's supposed to set examples - so whatever it is I put in my body it's up to me to take responsibility for it and I have done that" . As a professional athlete, Fraser-Pryce handled the difficult situation and interviews in a respectable manner, setting a good example for all athletes.
Special Awards
Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce first won the Golden Cleats Award for female Athlete of the Year in 2010. Fraser-Pryce was awarded because of her gold medal performance at the 2009 Berlin IAAF World Championships in the 100 meters and a gold medal in the 4 x 100 meter relay as well. For Fraser-Pryce's outstanding accomplishments in last year's 2012 London Olympic Games, Fraser-Pryce won the Golden Cleats Award for female Athlete of the Year for the second time. The awards ceremony is sponsored by the Jamaica Athletics Administrative Association in January 2013. Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce is the third woman in history to repeat as the 100 meter Olympic Champion from the 2008 Beijing Olympics and also the 2012 London Olympics. As a result, she was awarded female Athlete of the Year in January 2013 for her gold medal performance at the 2012 London Olympic Games in the women's 100 meters, her silver medal performance in the 200 meters and helped the Jamaican 4 x 100 meter relay team win a silver medal. In accepting her award, she exclaimed, "It was a long year, as it was my final year in college, but it was a very important year for me as I wanted to repeat my title and wanted to win. I have to give God thanks for everything that happened last year.".
Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce, the fastest women on earth, competed with Britain’s Jessica Ennis, for the Laureus World Sportswoman of the Year Award. The award recognizes sporting achievement during the year 2012.Especially recognizing successful performances at the 2012 London Olympic Games. The winners are determined by votes made up of 46 of the greatest sportsmen and sportswomen of all time. The awards ceremony was televised on March 11, 2013 Unfortunately, Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce lost the award to Jessica Ennis, the gold medalist for the women’s heptathlon in London 2012, who also won the top honour, and the Laureus Sports Award.
Off the track
Fraser was named as the first UNICEF National Goodwill Ambassador for Jamaica on 22 February 2010. On 23 February 2010, she was named Grace Goodwill Ambassador for Peace for 2010 in a partnership with Grace Foods and not-for-profit Organisation PALS (Peace and Love in Society).
At the Shanghai meet in the IAAF Diamond League, Fraser tested positive for a banned substance after using pain medication (reportedly oxycodone, which is not a performance-enhancing drug) for toothache. In October 2010, she was subsequently suspended for six months.
In January 2011 she married long-term boyfriend Jason Pryce, changing her name to Fraser-Pryce. She is a committed Christian.[22]
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