Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce, Mother of the Wind: from street vendor to track legend

“Running is easy, but motherhood is a sport in itself. Celebrate all the women in your life, they deserve it !!” she tweeted. Shelly Ann Fraser Price in May 2021 on the occasion of Mother’s Day.

What the Jamaican does every time she goes out on a racing track can be defined in many ways, but not as “easy”. The 35-year-old athlete, who became a mother in 2017, won his fifth world title in the 100 meters this Sunday, which adds to his two Olympic titles (Beijing 2008 and London 2012) in this event.

Overall, add 11 gold medals at the World Championships and 8 podiums in four Olympics different (three golds, four silvers and a bronze). A legendary career with an inspiring life story.

He was born on December 27, 1986 in Waterhouse, a Kingston ghetto where violence and extreme poverty reign. He grew up in this context and his childhood was marked by several traumatic episodes such as, for example, the murder of his cousin after a shooting between two groups fighting for control of the neighborhood.

He worked as a street vendor to help his mother, Maxine, and having lunch to take to school. There she had her first contact with the sport that would lead her to stardom, running barefoot in school competitions.

That difficult childhood earned her the mental strength that years later ended up distinguishing herself from the rest of the athletes of her generation and would have been the key to overcoming difficult times.

Not even the insults received in Jamaica for eliminating the legendary Veronica Campbell from 100 meters in Beijing 2008 were able to destabilize her. She had absolutely solid foundations and it would have been very difficult to distract her from her goals, which at that point were centered on her greatest sporting glory.

Since she was just a little girl, she has earned the nickname of “Pocket rocket”, thanks to its 1.52 meters. of height and its great speed. In those years she was seen by Jason Pricewho she married in 2011 and had their son Zyon. It was he who opened the doors for him to stop training on the street and move on to the Stephen Francis training center.

And he didn’t miss the chance. From there began its exponential growth. At just 21 she became Olympic champion. The colorful-haired Caribbean athlete, who wore a slightly more discreet look at the 2008 Beijing Games, won his first big win there after winning the 100m.

The following year he returned to dominate that event at the World Championships in Berlin, where he also won the 4×100 seat. It was just the beginning of a very successful career that this Sunday wrote a new golden chapter in Eugene.

After a long journey of almost non-stop training and competitions, she moved away from high-performance sports for the first time when she became a mother, which, beyond the joy and emotion it generated in her, she describes herself. as very positive for his career.

“For me it was very nice to stop for a while. I had been ten years in a row without stopping and my body was asking me for a break”commented one of the keys that allows him to continue to shine at 35.

As if he never left He returns with two world titles in Doha 2019 (100 meters and 4x100m relay) and two Olympic medals in Tokyo 2021 (gold in 4x100m and silver in 100m).. She extraordinarily long-lived, she hasn’t lost a speed point since she returned to athletics after giving birth in 2017.

“It was important that this comeback be a success to show myself and others that it is possible to overcome barriers,” she said at the time. She added: “I’m glad I took this hiatus after 11 years of high-level competition, which are mentally exhausting.”

“You have talent, go out and use itHer mother, a former athlete who raised Shelly Ann and her two siblings alone, once told her she received six months in 2010 for testing positive for opioid oxycodone.

His legacy beyond sport

Shelly Ann Fraser created the “Pocket Rocket” foundation.which takes its name from its nickname and is responsible for it raise donations and raise funds to award scholarships to high school students aged 12 to 18.

“Currently, a total of 55 student-athletes (29 girls, 26 boys) from 22 different schools and 11 different sports have received academic scholarships,” details the foundation’s website.

She has also been involved in discussions related to women’s rights. She is a UNICEF ambassador and campaigns to improve birthing conditions in Jamaica and breastfeeding information.

In turn, he did not turn a deaf ear to the denunciation of the American sprinter AllysonFelix, who exhibited Nike in a column published in the New York Times after the well-known sneaker brand cut her contract by 70% after she got pregnant.

“I know that sneaker brands, when women reach a certain age, want to cut contracts. I’m happy to show that women (at the end of their careers) continue to deliver. “said a proud Fraser-Pryce on Sunday.

In connection with this, at the beginning of 2022 she was one of thirteen athletes, among whom she was also included Serena Williamswhich received 1.3 million dollars from the giant Nike (100 thousand dollars each) to be allocated to a foundation that promotes the inclusion of women in sport.