3 Jamaican sprinting legends whose Paris Olympics campaigns have been unsuccessful ft. Shericka Jackson

By Animesh Pandey

Modified Aug 04, 2024 13:24 GMT

In a major shock at the Paris Olympics 2024, Shericka Jackson of Jamaica pulled out from the women's 200m moments before the preliminary round was to begin. There was no clear reason behind her withdrawal, but Jackson pulling out of 200m meant that for the first time since Beijing 2008, there would be no individual Olympic gold medal for Jamaica in either the women's 100m or the women's 200m.

With Jackson pulling out of the heats, the job for Gabby Thomas, one of her main competitors, was made much easier. She topped the heats with a timing of 22.20 seconds, followed closely by Favour Ofili of Nigeria, who clocked an impressive 22.24 seconds to qualify for the semifinals.

Niesha Burgher and Lanae-Tava Thomas from Jamaica also managed to qualify for the semifinals, with timings of 22.54 seconds and 22.70 seconds respectively.

With that, Jackson has joined the ranks of Shelly-Ann Fraser Pryce and Elaine Thompson-Herah, who are out of medal contention for the Paris Olympics. Interestingly, before the Olympics, Jackson had also withdrawn from the 100m to keep herself focused for the 200m event.

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Jamaican sprinting legends who are out of medal contention at Paris Olympics ft. Shericka Jackson

#3) Shericka Jackson

Shericka Jackson in action at the Tokyo Olympics 2024 [Image Source: Getty]

With a personal best of 21.41 seconds and a gold medal at the 2023 World Championships, Shericka Jackson of Jamaica had a lot to gain at the Paris Olympics. She had won several Olympic medals before, but none of them came in the women's 200 m. Her best performance was an Olympic gold medal in the women's 4x100m relay event.

Jackson had a seasonal best of 22.29 seconds coming into the Paris Olympics. However, for reasons still unclear at the time of writing, she pulled out at the last minute from the preliminary heats in Paris.

#2) Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce

Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce preparing for the 100m preliminaries at the Paris Olympics 2024 [Image Source: Getty]

Unlike Shericka Jackson, Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce pulled herself out of competition after the preliminary round. She competed in the heats of the 100m, clocking an impressive 10.92 seconds to finish second overall, just behind Marie-Josee Ta Lou-Smith of Ivory Coast, who had 10.87 seconds to top the heats.

Paris Olympics was Fraser-Pryce's final appearance, and she wanted to make it big. However, due to unknown reasons, she suddenly pulled out of the semifinals.

Though no immediate reason was revealed, Fraser-Pryce shared her disappointment online. As per her address to both media, and on social media,

"It is difficult for me to find the words to describe the depths of my disappointment. I know that my supporters share and shoulder this disappointment with me. I am truly blessed to have the steadfast support since my Olympic debut in 2008. " [via The Independent]

Fraser-Pryce further said,

"....With every step and win, you have all been there for me. My faith has always affirmed my trust in my journey. Thank you for continuing to be with me today and everday." [via The Independent]

Fraser-Pryce was scheduled to compete next in the women's 4x100m relay event. However, given recent events, that looks unlikely.

#1) Elaine Thompson-Herah

Elaine Thompson-Herah in action ] [Image Source: Getty]

While Shericka Jackson and Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce were at least able to make it to the Paris Olympics 2024, Elaine Thompson-Herah, the sprinting legend from Jamaica didn't make it to the list of Olympic athletes for 2024 for her nation.

Unlike Jackson, Elaine Thompson-Herah was all set to repeat her heroics from the Tokyo Olympics, where she had won both the 100m and 200m, and she was in prime form until the New York Grand Prix held in June.

During one of the events, Thompson-Herah tore her Achilles tendon and had to be carried off on a stretcher. This was weeks before the national trials for the Paris Olympics that were due to be held at Kingston in Jamaica. Due to the injury, Thompson-Herah was completely ruled out of contention for the Paris Olympics, since the injury would take at least months to heal.