Why Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce will run the final race of her career in Japan
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Reading Time: 3min | Fri. 04.07.25. | 17:00
Her debut at the senior global stage came at the 2007 World Championships in Osaka, where she helped Jamaica win silver in the 4x100m relay
Jamaican sprint legend Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce will bring the curtain down on her glittering career at the 2025 World Athletics Championships in Tokyo, Japan.
This is the same country where her journey to global stardom began.
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The 38-year-old, who has already confirmed that this will be her final competitive season, booked her ticket to the Tokyo showpiece with a third-place finish at the Jamaica National Championships on Friday, 27 June.
She did it in style, clocking a season-best 10.91 seconds in the 100m final and consequently, secured her place on what will be her last Jamaican team.
For the five-time world 100m champion, ending her career in Japan is more than just a competition; it is a return to where the dream first took shape.
“Japan is where I started my first senior championships, so it is such a full-circle moment to go back there. I am just really excited to go back and put the race together and hope for the best,” Fraser-Pryce told SportsMax.
Her debut at the senior global stage came at the 2007 World Championships in Osaka, where she helped Jamaica win silver in the 4x100m relay.
That moment was a springboard into a career that redefined women’s sprinting.
From that breakthrough, Fraser-Pryce went on to win three Olympic gold medals, including historic back-to-back 100m titles in 2008 and 2012, and become a 10-time World Championships medallist.
She also captured a World Indoor title in the 60m and etched her name in history as the third-fastest woman of all time.
Known for her explosive starts, longevity, and consistency, Fraser-Pryce has inspired generations of athletes while dominating global sprints for nearly two decades.
Her determination was on full display last weekend, proving she still has the fire to compete on the world stage one final time.
“One thing I knew I had on my side was experience. It is never over until it is over, and I am grateful for that fighting spirit that says once I step to the line, I am ready to go,” she concluded.
However, even as she prepares to bow out, 'Pocket Rocket' as she is famously known is not slowing down.
She is using her global platform to champion an end to barefoot racing among Jamaica’s young athletes.
“There is no way we should still have kids running barefoot in this country. Not the Jamaica of world-class sprinters and athletes,” she said during an emotional tribute hosted by her long-time sponsor Nike at a Jamaican hotel on Monday, 23 June.
To address this, Fraser-Pryce unveiled a new grassroots partnership with Nike to provide proper footwear for every primary school athlete in Jamaica competing at the National Stadium.
“Nike and I have decided that it is at the grassroots level that we will have impact. It is my mandate to make sure that every single student at the primary level in this country will never run barefoot at the National Stadium,” she offered.
