A burning desire to leave the sport in better shape than when she found it was the driving force behind Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce’s decision to become a board member of the newly formalized The Athletics Association.

The 33-year-old Fraser-Pryce, who is at the back end of an illustrious career, won an unprecedented fourth World 100m title in Doha, Qatar in September 2019 to go along with a 200m title in 2013, and two Olympic 100m titles during a decade of dominance.

However, she recognises that the inequities that exist within the struggling sport of track and field make life difficult for many of those who have not enjoyed a similar level of success. The Athletics Association will seek to address many of these issues as well as attempt to restore the sport to its former glory.

“The objective of The Athletics Association is to provide Track and Field athletes with a meaningful voice, to fight for stronger athletes’ rights, and to seek an athletes-first approach to our sport,” the association said in a statement released today.

The statement said the Athletics Association aims to engage in positive dialogue with the sport’s governing body, World Athletics, and their own athletes’ commission, but will, of course, hold World Athletics to account when necessary and challenge them if they are not acting in the best interest of the athletes.

It is a mandate that falls in line with the objectives of woman many consider to be the greatest-ever female sprinter.

“Years ago, I resolved that I wanted to leave the sport better than I found it. It is the reason I created my Pocket Rocket Foundation to effect lasting change for student-athletes at the secondary level. Of course, to truly impact the sport requires an international platform so when the opportunity to be a part of The Athletics Association presented itself, I jumped at the chance,” Fraser-Pryce told Sportsmax.TV Thursday shortly after the association released its statement.

“Representation matters. It’s the only way for us athletes to have a voice. The 24-member strong team is a diverse one and knowing that the Caribbean region will have a seat at the table is encouraging.”

Like the association’s founder and president, Christian Taylor, Fraser-Pryce believes some decisions made at the administrative level of track and field have only served to hurt athletes who are already struggling to put food on their tables while facing bleak financial futures. The association, she said, will work to address the problematic issues that she feels work against the key stakeholders, its athletes.

“Competing is our livelihood, so issues that deny athletes the participation to earn a living will be addressed. An example of that is the IAAF’s decision to eliminate certain field events from the Diamond League schedule,” she said.

A number of Caribbean athletes - Fedrick Dacres, Anderson Pieters, Danielle Thomas Dodd and Shanieka Ricketts - are just some of the athletes negatively impacted by recent World Athletics decisions.

“This has significantly impacted the earning power of the affected athletes and what I consider a disservice to them and the spirit of the athletic community. Years of training is invested in improving our performance in our respective sporting arenas so it’s crucial that we protect the culture of inclusion,” said Fraser-Pryce, who represents the sprints on the board.

“To command change requires collaboration and this is exactly what The Athletes Association represents and why I did not hesitate to step up. We are all still actively competing and can readily identify the issues that need to be addressed. The Caribbean has always been at a disadvantage as it relates to sporting infrastructure and training limitations. So finally having the chance to be heard. This is a step in the right direction.”