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Michael Johnson heaps praises on the three-time Olympic gold medalist Shelly-Ann Fraser Pryce

"That's why Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce is so consistently great" - Michael Johnson lauds Jamaican sprinter on her persistence to prove herself right

Three-time Olympic gold medalist Michael Johnson recently reacted to a post regarding Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce.

During an interview with The Players' Tribune in 2021, Fraser-Pryce opened up about the insecurities she faced after turning 30 and becoming a mother. She was quoted as saying:

"When I turned 30, there were just so many things in my head to discourage me. It wasn’t even like I was trying to prove anyone wrong. I was just trying to prove myself right, that I could do this."

Fraser-Pryce married Jason Pryce in 2011 and the couple welcomed their first child, a son named Zyon, in August 2017. The star sprinter, who turned 30 in December 2016, won the Olympic silver in the 100m in Tokyo.

In the interview, the American further added that these changes motivated her to take her performance to a higher level as she wanted to prove her doubters wrong. Fraser-Pryce stated:

"I had to take it to another level, I had to believe more in who I was, and think less about what people expect. Because they probably think, Oh, she had a baby, she just turned 30, maybe it’s time for her to put it down."

Reacting to the post on X(formerly Twitter), Johnson was full of praise for the Jamaican sprinter. He re-tweeted the post with the caption:

"This explains why @realshellyannfp is so consistently great. “I was trying to prove myself right" When you truly believe in yourself, proving yourself right is a much more powerful and sustainable motivator for success than what we often hear: “Proving others wrong.”

Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce became the first Caribbean woman to win a gold medal in the 100m discipline in the Olympics. Besides her three Olympic golds, Fraser-Pryce is also a ten-time World Champion across various disciplines, including the 100m, 200m, and the 4*100m relay.

The 37-year-old Kingston native clinched silver (4x100m relay) and bronze (100m) during last year's World Championships in Budapest.


Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce reveals that the Paris Olympics will be her last one

Three-time Olympic gold medalist Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce is set to retire after the 2024 Paris Olympics. In an interview with the American magazine Essence, she revealed that she is forcing herself to retire as she wants to spend more time with her family.

The third-fastest woman of all time across 100m also stated that her son, who is just six years old, needs her and after spending the majority of her time focusing on her career, she now owes time to her family.

"My son needs me. My husband and I have been together since before I won in 2008. He has sacrificed for me. We're a partnership, a team. And it's because of that support that I'm able to do the things that I have been doing for all these years," she told Essence.

Having dealt with an injury during the World Athletics Championships in 2023, Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce has started her training sessions, which include pacing herself. She notably suffered a muscle strain during the 4x100m relay finals.

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