What happened? Is the question many are asking after watching Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce compete at the Prefontaine Classics /Eugene Diamond League Sunday.
Fraser-Pryce, the favorite to win the 100m, left fans and race commentators shocked as she finished 8th in 11.39 seconds following her sizzling 10.73 world-leading she registered with Elaine Thompson at the Jamaica Senior Championships last week.
Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce was named among the Jamaican team to compete at the 2019 Pan Am Games on August 1-11 in Lima, Peru.
Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce said that no matter what happens this season, she’s “already grateful” to have returned to top form after giving birth via cesarean section.
A rejuvenated Fraser-Pryce has returned to the top, or at least very close to it, in 2019, clocking 10.88 in Kingston on June 8 — her fastest time since taking bronze at the 2016 Olympics — before ripping a 10.73 at last week’s Jamaican champs, just .03 off her personal best from 2012. She will be among the favorites to win gold at Worlds in Doha this fall.
Fraser-Pryce said that one thing that helped her return to her best was the fact that 2018 was an off year — there were no Worlds or Olympics to peak for. That allowed her to make her comeback on her own schedule, rather than rushing to get in shape for a big meet at the end of the year.