Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce, the legendary Jamaican sprinter, has signed a deal with Swiss luxury watch company Richard Mille. The 36-year-old, who is a five-time World Champion at 100m and two-time Olympic 100m gold medallist, signed a three-year deal with the esteemed watchmaker on July 1.
This is Fraser-Pryce's first international sponsor, outside of her shoe sponsor Nike. The deal will also help fund her Pocket Rocket Foundation which provides scholarships annually to Jamaican high-school student-athletes.
There are plans to have Fraser-Pryce wearing a Richard Mille watch when she takes to the track at the World Athletics Championships in Budapest next month, where she will be vying for a record-extending sixth 100m title.
She joins such esteemed members of the Richard Mille family that includes Yohan Blake, Rafael Nadal, Wayde van Niekerk, Didier Drogba, and Fernando Alonso.
Over an illustrious career spanning almost two decades, Fraser-Pryce has established herself as arguably the greatest female sprinter of all time. In 2008, she became the first Jamaican woman to win an Olympic 100m title. She followed up by winning the 100m title at the World Championships in Berlin, Germany.
She added a second Olympic 100m title in 2012, joining Wyoma Tyus and Gail Devers as the only women to have won consecutive Olympic titles. Her compatriot Elaine Thompson-Herah joined that pantheon at the Tokyo Olympics after winning her first 100m title in Rio, Brazil in 2016.
In Moscow in 2013, Fraser-Pryce became the first woman to win the 100m, 200m, and 4x100m at a World Championships. She added a fourth 100m title in Helsinki in 2015.
Despite a toe injury in 2016, Fraser-Pryce won a bronze medal in the 100m at the Rio 2016 Olympics and became the only woman to win medals in the 100m at three consecutive Olympic Games.
She gave birth to her son Zyon in 2017 after which she returned to the track in 2019 to win her fourth 100m world title in Doha, Qatar. She followed up with a silver medal at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics and extended her record when she became the only woman to win medals in the 100m at four consecutive Olympic Games.
She added to her incredible legacy at the 2022 World Championships in Eugene, Oregon where she won the 100m in a championship record of 10.67 and because the first running athlete to win five gold medals in the same event at a World Championships. The Pocket Rocket then added a silver medal in the 200m, running 21.83 to finish behind compatriot Shericka Jackson who won gold in 21.45, the second-fastest time ever run by a woman over the distance.
That same year, Fraser-Pryce added to her already considerable legacy by running below 10.7 seconds for the 100m, a record seven times. She is the only woman ever to accomplish that feat.
This new deal with Richard Mille is a testament to Fraser-Pryce's status as one of the greatest athletes of all time. It is also a sign of her continued dominance in the world of sprinting. With this new partnership, Fraser-Pryce is sure to continue to inspire and amaze fans for years to come.
Leighton Levy is a journalist with 28 years’ experience covering crime, entertainment, and sports. He joined the staff at SportsMax.TV as a content editor two years ago and is enjoying the experience of developing sports content and new ideas. At SportsMax.tv he is pursuing his true passion - sports.
Dominican Republic’s Luguelin Santos stripped of world junior title for age-manipulation violations
Dominican sprinter Luguelin Santos has been stripped of his World Junior Championships gold medal from 2012 and handed a three-year ban by the Athletics Integrity Unit (AIU) for age-manipulation violations. The AIU revealed this decision on Friday, uncovering Santos's admission to competing with a falsified date of birth during the 2012 World Junior Championships in Barcelona.
Luguelin Santos, now 31 years old, had clinched the 400-metre gold at the 2012 World Junior Championships when he was just 18. However, the AIU's investigation exposed that Santos had utilized a passport with a manipulated birthdate, claiming to be born on November 12, 1993, when, in reality, his birthdate is November 12, 1992. Consequently, Santos was ineligible to participate in the 2012 World Juniors, as per the competition rules requiring junior athletes to be either 18 or 19 years old on December 31 of the competition year.
The AIU, in a statement, clarified the gravity of the violation, stating, "Thus, he was ineligible to participate in the World Juniors 2012." The age-manipulation incident tarnished Santos's victory at the championship, leading to the unprecedented decision to strip him of the gold medal.
Santos, a two-time Youth Olympic champion, had furthered his career by claiming a silver medal in the 400m event at the 2012 London Olympics. However, Brett Clothier, Head of the AIU, emphasized that unlike doping violations, age-manipulation sanctions do not warrant the annulment of Olympic results. Clothier explained, "There is no basis on which to annul his Olympic result as that was not an age-group event and no violation was committed there."
World champs bronze medallist Sada Williams receives prestigious national honour from Barbados
For her trailblazing exploits in track and field Sada Williams was on Thursday recognized by her home country of Barbados at their Independence Day National Honours ceremony.
Williams, who turns 26 on Friday, is a back-to-back World Championship 400m bronze medallist and is the first Barbadian women to win a medal at a global championship. She won a bronze medal in the 400m at the 2022 World Championships in Eugene, Oregon and repeated the feat at the 2023 Championships in Budapest, Hungary in August. In so doing she became the first Barbadian athlete to win a global medal at consecutive championships.
She also won the 400m at the 2022 Commonwealth Games in Birmingham, England and took home a silver medal at the NACAC Championships that same year.
For that and more, she was awarded The Gold Trident of Excellence Award in recognition of her outstanding achievements and dedicated service to her country. It was an honour to be appreciated, she said.
“I feel very honoured to be recognized this year and last year and I am hoping to continue to do great things reach further,” said Williams who was attending the Independence Day Parade for the very first time.
World champions Jackson, Williams, Watson lead nominees for RJR Sports Foundation Athlete of the Year
The race for Jamaica's Sportsman and Sportswoman of the Year for 2023 has officially begun, with the announcement of the nominees on Wednesday. The 63rd RJR Sports Foundation Women and Men Athletes of the Year will see a fierce competition among some of the nation's top athletic talents, with World Athletics Championships gold medallists Shericka Jackson, Danielle Williams, and Antonio Watson among the standout contenders.
The nominees for the People's Choice Award include Jackson's impressive 200m victory, Williams' triumph in the 100m hurdles, and Watson's groundbreaking performance at the 2023 World Athletics Championships in Budapest. The anticipation for these accolades is high, considering the outstanding achievements of these athletes on the global stage.
The winners of the prestigious awards will be unveiled during a ceremony scheduled for January 19, 2024. Jackson, who is considered a heavy favorite to secure the award she shared with Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce in 2022, showcased another stellar season, adding a silver medal in the 100m at the World Championships in Budapest. Her exceptional form was highlighted by securing the Diamond League 100m and 200m titles in Eugene, Oregon.
Williams, too, enjoyed a remarkable year, surprising many by claiming victory in the 100m hurdles in Budapest, where she outperformed formidable rivals such as Jasmine Camacho-Quinn, Kendra Harrison, and Tobi Amusan.
The competition for the Women Athlete of the Year is intensified with the inclusion of World Championship bronze medallists Rushell Clayton and Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce, along with Suncorp Super Netball League standout Jhaniele Fowler.
Antonio Watson, the trailblazing Jamaican sprinter, leads the nominations for the Men Athlete of the Year. Watson made history as the first Jamaican man in 40 years to clinch the gold medal in the World Championships 400m.
The list of male nominees also features World Championships 110m hurdles silver medalist and Diamond League champion Hansle Parchment, along with standout long jumpers Wayne Pinnock, Tajay Gayle, the silver and bronze medalists from Budapest as well as Pan American 400m hurdles champion Jaheel Hyde, and motorsports star Fraser McConnell.
The People's Choice Award nominations encompass memorable moments, including Shamar Nicholson's equalizing goal in the recent CONCACAF Nations League quarter-final match against Canada and Drew Spence's incredible free kick against Canada in their Olympic qualifier.
The selection panel, chaired by Mike Fennell, boasts a distinguished lineup including retired media practitioner Courtney Sergeant, Olympian Deon Hemmings-McCatty, President of Jamaica’s Inter-Secondary School Sports Association Keith Wellington, and Michael Hall, former chairman of the Sports Foundation and League Operations Manager of the Caribbean Premier League.
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