Jamaica's Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce Earns Fastest Woman Alive Title

The two-time Olympic champion ran the 100 meters in 10.63 seconds. Only sprinting legend Florence Griffith Joyner has ever clocked a faster time.
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Jamaican sprinter Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce is now the fastest woman alive.

The two-time Olympic champion ran the 100 meters in 10.63 seconds at a national trials warmup event in Kingston, Jamaica, on Saturday.

Only one woman, American sprinter Florence Griffith Joyner, has ever clocked a faster time: 10.49 seconds. Flo-Jo, who died in 1998, ran the three fastest times ever in the 100 meters in 1988: 10.49, 10.61 and 10.62. Fraser-Pryce’s latest run makes her the second-fastest woman of all time.

The 34-year-old told reporters after the race that she was at a “loss for words.”

“It’s about being patient and enjoying the process,” the sprinter said, later adding, “I never expected I would run 10.6 and I think that’s a good thing, because there was no pressure.”

Fraser-Pryce set her previous personal best time at 10.70 seconds in 2012 and could make history at the upcoming 2021 Olympics by becoming the first woman to win one individual Olympic track and field event three times, according to NBC Sports.

The Jamaican sprinter became the first person to win four 100-meter world titles in 2019 at age 32. Fraser-Pryce, whose nickname is “Mommy Rocket,” had given birth to her son, Zyon, two years prior.

The Olympic champion celebrated her recent record-breaking feat earlier this week on Instagram, sharing a photo of herself posing next to a board with her recorded time.

“Here I am, Zyon’s Mommy, 34yrs old [and] The Fastest Woman Alive!!!” she wrote.

Fraser-Pryce received wide praise this week, including acknowledgment from Jamaica’s prime minister, Andrew Holness, who congratulated the track and field star on Twitter over the weekend.

“#Shelly is a fine example of what talent, discipline and determination may achieve. We are proud of our global Ambassador,” he wrote. “We celebrate her breaking the National Record and becoming the fastest woman alive.”

Retired U.S. sprinter Carmelita Jeter, who previously held the fastest woman alive title with her personal best 100 meters at 10.64 seconds, also shared her support for Fraser-Pryce on Twitter.

“I just woke to some amazing news. @realshellyannfp has done it again,” she wrote. “I give credit when it’s due. You have come back from having a child and showed the world how talented and driven you are. You are officially the Fastest [Woman] Alive. Keep motivating these young Queens.”

Fraser-Pryce responded to Jeter’s praise on Twitter, writing, “As real as they come!! Thank you Jet!”

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