Fraser-Pryce has inspired millions. But who inspired Fraser-Pryce?
For all the young athletes she inspires today, Fraser-Pryce’s own journey was built on the strength of women around her. “I would have to say my mom and my grandmother were my inspiration growing up,” she reflected.
Her mother, a runner in her own youth, gave up athletics when she fell pregnant, but remained a guiding influence in Fraser-Pryce’s early years.
“She would always be the one saying to me, ‘You need to go to training’… I think growing up and seeing her hard work to make ends meet and her sacrifices, you kind of always had strong women around. My grandmother, my mom, my aunt, I’ve always seen strong women.”
Fraser-Pryce revealed that her first vivid memory of athletics is not of competing herself, but of watching Jamaica triumph in the sprint relay at Athens 2004.
At the time, she was sitting in her aunt’s doorway in a tenement yard, watching on borrowed cable TV. “I remember watching that race and seeing them winning the 4x100m. And I remember jumping and hitting the zinc fences. I was so excited. So that was my first real memory of watching track and having that feeling.”
From those beginnings to becoming a global icon, Fraser-Pryce has crossed paths with countless rivals, but one stands out. “I would say Carmelita Jeter… because she was just so fierce. It didn’t matter if I went in the race with the best time or if I was the champion going in, she was on it.
“And everybody knew her technique was so solid. So for me, I had to make sure that I was technically solid with her.”
Their duels, she admitted, demanded perfection, raising the intensity of competition and giving fans some of the sport’s most thrilling races.