Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce announces retirement after 18 years and 10 world titles
The Jamaican’s legacy will remain as one of the greatest female sprinters in history
Kevin Morris
After nearly two decades of sprinting supremacy, Jamaican legend Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce has officially announced her retirement from track and field.
“For the past 18 years, time–down to the very millisecond–has been at the epicentre of my life,” Fraser-Pryce wrote in an emotional message on Instagram. “Time has been the measure, the test and the reward. Every day of training, each of my 275 races, every step to the starting line was my own pursuit to not only utilize the time given but to make it my own. For nearly two decades, I have made every second count, and I give God all the glory for blessing me with a career in something I have grown to love so deeply.”
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At 38, Fraser-Pryce leaves behind one of the most decorated resumes in athletics history: 10 world titles, including five in the 100m (2009, 2013, 2015, 2019 and 2022), eight Olympic medals, two gold from 2008 and 2012, and five Diamond League final wins.
An unbelievable career
Fraser-Pryce grew up in Waterhouse, an area of Kingston, Jamaica. Her remarkable career began at Beijing 2008, when she became the first woman from the Caribbean to win 100m Olympic gold; at London 2012, she became only the third woman in history to successfully defend her Olympic 100m title. At the 2013 World Championships in Moscow, she went on to become the first woman to win gold in the 100m/200m sprint double and the 4x100m.
At the 2022 World Championships in Eugene, Ore., when she was 35, Fraser-Pryce captured 100m gold to become the oldest sprinter ever to win a world title.
The sprinter battled injuries in 2023, although she still took home world championship bronze and contributed to securing 4x100m silver. She announced Paris 2024 would mark her final Olympic Games; her campaign was cut short due to another injury that popped up during her 100m semi-final warmup.
The 2025 World Athletics Championships in Tokyo marked Fraser-Pryce’s final appearance on the track. She finished a respectable sixth in the 100m and capped her career with silver in the 4x100m relay.
“To my fellow Jamaicans–thank you for your unyielding love, loyalty and pride that have propelled me year after year,” she wrote. “It has been the greatest honour 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.”
“It is simply a lane change”
Beyond the track, she established the Pocket Rocket Foundation to provide support for student-athletes, and during COVID, provided computers and tablets to help children access online learning. UNICEF Jamaica recognized her as a National Goodwill Ambassador for her athletic accomplishments and for defending children’s rights.
“I know my race is not finished; it is simply a lane change,” she wrote. “This new chapter is about passing on the lessons the sport has given me, using my voice to advocate for others and helping the next generation shine even brighter. Sprinting gave me a global stage, but faith gives me a greater mission.”
