Fraser-Pryce pursuing speed and success

Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce said her priority for this summer’s Olympic Games in Tokyo, Japan, is running faster than 10.70 in the 100m but indicates that it would be nice to be on the podium with a medal and the time she is so passionately in pursuit of.

During a media session earlier today on the eve of her Diamond League 100m race in Doha on Friday, the two-time Olympic 100m champion and four-time World Champion was asked what she hopes to get out of the Olympic Games.

“Having been on the podium so many times, if I am honest, I am really looking forward to being on the podium, which is good for me, but I think this time around I am looking forward to running below 10.70. That is definitely a big dream and something that I am working hard towards,” she said.

“To have both (medal and time) would definitely be a blessing, but if you ask me which one I would rank higher I would definitely say I want to run 10.6 or even faster. That is definitely what I want but to have the combination would be good so I am working towards the combination as well.”

Chasing times, she explained, would not be detrimental to her goals of bettering her personal best (10.70), a national record that she shares with double Olympic champion Elaine Thompson-Herah, because she believes the quality of her competitors will help her achieve the time she seeks as well as medals.

“The harder the competitions are the better I am at performing,” said Fraser-Pryce, who has run some of her fastest time in the finals of global competitions.

“I like a challenge, I like when the competition is hot because, at the end of the day, that is what the Diamond League is about as well because when you are at a Diamond League you know the field is going to be good and it’s going to be solid,” she said.

“When you’re in a race and you’re the sole competitor that is doing well, the pressure is not there as if you if have competitors that are doing exceptionally well just like you, so for me, I think the bigger the field is the bigger I perform because I love the opportunity to rise and I think those are the opportunities I get when I compete in a field that’s stacked.”

Following their encounter in Gateshead less than a week ago, Fraser-Pryce was supposed to face off with Sha Carri Richardson again tomorrow.

However, the American has withdrawn from the meet leaving the four-time world champion facing the likes of Nigeria’s Blessing Okagbare and the USA’s Javianne Oliver, two women who have run below 11 seconds so far this year.

Both women have similar times of 10.97 so far this season.

In fact, in what must be a rare occurrence, in the field of eight women, the two-time Olympic gold medallist has run the slowest time this season, the 11.51 she ran in driving wind and rain at Gateshead four days ago.

Going into tomorrow’s race, Fraser-Pryce is not planning to take anyone for granted as she hunts her first 100m win of 2021 on the track where she won an unprecedented fourth 100m world title less than two years ago.

“I wouldn’t say I view a specific athlete as a threat. I have always said that whenever it is that you line up to compete in a 100m you have to be ready for anybody,” she said.

“I don’t spend my time focusing on any individual athlete. I know that at the end of the day an athlete is not standing at the line to shower me with flowers or escort me to the line. They’re there to compete and they’re there to compete aggressively.

“So for me, I am not paying attention to an individual athlete. I am paying attention to my lane and paying attention to making sure that when I get in the blocks I’m ahead of everybody else. I know that every single female athlete that steps to the line, they’re ready.” (CMC)