Jamaican sprinting icon Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce has announced her retirement after a glittering 18-year career.
A three-time Olympic gold medalist and ten-time world champion, Fraser-Pryce bids farewell to competitive track and field as the most decorated 100m sprinter of all time.
The 38-year-old finished her career at last month’s World Athletics Championships in Tokyo, adding a silver in the 4x100m relay to take her overall worlds medal tally to a stunning 16.
It was after her outing in the worlds 100m final - where she placed sixth - that she indicated her intention to retire, emphasising how important she felt “finishing on your own terms” was, and has now officially called time on her career.
“For the past 18 years, time - down to the very millisecond - has been at the epicenter of my life,” Fraser-Pryce said. “Time has been the measure, the test, and the reward.
“This sport has given me joy beyond measure. It has shaped me, disciplined me, and carried me to heights I could only dream of as a young girl in Waterhouse. Yet as I reflect, I no longer see time only in seconds - I see it in years. The years I gave to sprinting will forever remain among the greatest of my life.”
Known affectionately as “Pocket Rocket”, Fraser-Pryce shot to Olympic stardom at Beijing 2008 as she topped the 100m podium in her debut Games, before successfully defending her title four years later in London.
A revered figure in her homeland, she made history on the world stage when winning her fifth title in 2022, becoming the first athlete to ever achieve such a feat in a single individual event. At 35, that victory also made her the oldest athlete to become world champion in the 100m.
Beyond the track, she is a mother, philanthropist, and the founder of the Pocket Rocket Foundation, which provides scholarships and essential resources to Jamaican student-athletes.
“I am a proud daughter of the soil, and I owe an eternal debt of gratitude to Jamaica,” she added. “To my fellow Jamaicans - thank you for your unyielding love, loyalty, and pride that have propelled me year after year.
“It has been the greatest honor to carry our flag across the world. We may be small, but we are mighty, and I am humbled to have represented the strength of our nation with passion on the global stage.”