Being the fastest kid in my neighborhood had its perks.
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I was constantly showered with praise every time we rode bikes or hooped, I was the envy of my peers on the school bus, and beating the street lights home was just another day in the life. But being the second-fastest woman ever? Thatโs the type of clout reserved for one person and one person only: Jamaican sprinter Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce.
From NBC Sports:
Two-time Olympic 100m champion Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce clocked the worldโs fastest womenโs 100m in nearly 33 years on Saturday and re-established herself as the favorite for a third gold in Tokyo.
Fraser-Pryce, the Jamaican who won the 2019 World title coming back from childbirth, clocked 10.63 seconds at a meet in Kingston.
For context, thatโs โonlyโ the fourth-best time in history, but guess whoโs responsible for the other three? Olympic great Florence Griffith Joyner, a.k.a. โFlo Joโ, who clocked in at 10.49, 10.61, and 10.62โall in 1988.
For those who want to see Fraser-Pryce in action, blurt out โDinnerโs ready!โ and watch her work:
โLook at God!! I have worked and prayed for this moment,โ she wrote on Instagram. โItโs so important to walk in your purpose and hold onto your dreams. When you combine faith with hard work, ANYTHINGโ โ is possible. Focus on the little things you can control and the bigger picture will come together by itself.โ โ Here I am, Zyonโs Mommy, 34yrs old & โ โ The Fastest Woman Alive!!!โ โ โ
13 years after emerging from relative obscurity, 34-year-old Fraser-Pryce is not only still fast as shit, but has blossomed into one of the most decorated sprinters in the history of the sport. And with too many Olympic medals and World Championship titles in her possession to count, expect her reign of terror to continue during next monthโs Tokyo Olympics.
โComing out here today, I never expected I would run 10.6, and I think thatโs a good thing because there was no pressure,โ she told reporters after making our ancestors proud. โI just wanted to get one run in before national championships, and thatโs what I was looking forward to. Iโm at a loss for words because 10.6 has been a dream, a goal. Iโve been working so hard, been so patient, and to see it finally unfold, Iโm just ecstatic.โ
Black, magic, and real. Congrats, Shelly-Ann!
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