A few hours before her 100m semifinal race at the Paris Olympics Games, Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce was locked out of the stadium gate, thus driving her to a heartbreaking decision, which put an end to an unceremonious final Olympic career appearance.
Eleven months after a heartbreaking end to her Olympic sendoff in Paris, Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce has finally spoken on why she withdrew from the women’s 100m semifinals.
The Jamaican track legend was to compete in her last sprint race in Paris. Having cruised through the 100m heats in 10.92 seconds, she was basking in her final Olympics feeling on Day 2 for the semifinal and possibly final.
Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce cruised through the 100m heats before pulling out of the semifinals at the Paris Olympic Games
Sadly, an unfortunate incident happened. When she arrived at the gate at Stade Annexe for her next run—the same gate she had entered the day before—she was denied access because she was not aboard an official bus from the Olympic Village.
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This disrupted her warmup plans, which led to her losing an hour of preparation and readiness. Eventually, she chose to withdraw from the Games, providing little context, which led to headlines speculating an injury, but that wasn’t entirely accurate.
Now telling her side of the story, the track icon bore it all in an exclusive interview with marieclaire.com.
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“Last year was very hard for me mentally and physically,” she said. “I’ve always done it for the flag and showed up to do it for my country. But what happened in Paris, that was a ‘me’ decision.”
“I felt good. I was just ready to let it all go, no fear,” Fraser-Pryce continued. “They tell me that the gate is closed, and I’m like, Well, the track is like right there, and I used the gate yesterday. They tell me that they made the decision to not use the gate that morning.
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“It wasn’t like there were a hundred people trying to go through the gate. Walking to another entrance meant going by pedestrians and other attendees walking.”
The five-time world 100m champion had to use another means of entrance, which involved walking a long distance. Usually, there’s a rhythm to her routine, and traditionally, she gets to the track three hours before competing so she has time to get into a calm headspace, listen to her gospel music, and then begin her warm-ups. Because of the issue at the gate, she lost an hour.
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During her warmup, she could sense her body “shutting down,” with painful muscle cramps in her legs, only rivaling the uneasy feeling in her gut.
“I was probably having a panic attack,” she said. “I felt I could see it in front of me—and it was ripped [out of my hands]. I’m a warrior; I’m a fighter. I love rising to the occasion. I wanted to do it for my country, but I had to ask, What’s right for me?”
With the heartbreak of the Paris Olympics behind, Fraser-Pryce forged ahead to give herself one more season before she finally hangs up her spikes.
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She has already made the Jamaican team for the World Championships in Tokyo this summer, where she’ll be gunning to close off her glorious career with a medal and have a well deserved heroic sendoff.
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