Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce announces athletics retirement after glittering 18-year career - 'I have made every second count'
Published 07/10/2025 at 19:40 GMT+1
Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce announced her athletics retirement on Tuesday after an 18-year career in which she established herself among the sprinting greats. Fraser-Pryce won eight Olympic medals, including gold on three occasions. She wrapped up her career at last month's World Athletics Championships in Tokyo, where she picked up silver in the 4x100m relay and finished sixth in the 100m final.
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Video credit: TNT Sports
Jamaican sprint icon Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce officially announced her retirement from athletics after a glittering 18-year career.
Fraser-Pryce bows out as the most decorated women's 100m sprinter, having won eight Olympic medals, including three golds, and been crowned world champion on 10 occasions - five of which coming in the 100m.
The 38-year-old rounded off her glittering career at last month's World Athletics Championships in Tokyo, where she picked up a silver medal in the 4x100m relay and finished sixth in the 100m final.
It was a full-circle moment for Fraser-Pryce, having made her debut on the world stage in Osaka, Japan in 2007.
"For the past 18 years, time - down to the very millisecond - has been at the epicentre of my life," Fraser-Pryce wrote on social media. "Every day of training, each of my 275 races, every step to the starting line was my own pursuit to not only utilise the time given but to make it my own.
"For nearly two decades, I have made every second count, and I give God all the glory for blessing me with a career in something I have grown to love so deeply.
"This sport has given me joy beyond measure. It has shaped me, disciplined me, and carried me to heights I could only dream of as a young girl in Waterhouse.
"Yet as I reflect, I no longer see time only in seconds - I see it in years. The years I gave to sprinting will forever remain among the greatest of my life.
"I am a proud daughter of the soil, and I owe an eternal debt of gratitude to Jamaica. To my fellow Jamaicans - thank you for your unyielding love, loyalty, and pride that have propelled me year after year.
"It has been the greatest honor to carry our flag across the world. We may be small, but we are mighty, and I am humbled to have represented the strength of our nation with passion on the global stage."
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Away from the track, Fraser-Pryce is a mother, philanthropist, and founder of the Pocket Rocket Foundation, an organisation that offers scholarships and support to Jamaican student-athletes.
"I know my race is not finished; it is simply a lane change," she continued. "This new chapter is about passing on the lessons the sport has given me, using my voice to advocate for others, and helping the next generation shine even brighter.
"Sprinting gave me a global stage, but faith gives me a greater mission."
Fraser-Pryce's final Olympic appearance came in Paris last year. She suffered the disappointment of having to withdraw from her 100m semi-final after sustaining an injury in the warm-up. She won gold on her Olympic debut, in Beijing 2008.
Watch and stream coverage of the 2025 World Athletics Championships on TNT Sports and discovery+
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