The fastest woman in the world this year will be in a lane for the Diamond League 100m final on Thursday, September 8, when she faces Shericka Jackson the only woman to defeat her this year and compatriot Natasa Morrison. She is also expected to face the likes of Aleia Hobbs, Twanisha Terry and Sha'Carri Richardson of the USA, Majinga Kambundji of Switzerland, Marie Josee Ta Lou of the Ivory Coast as well as Daryll Neita of Great Britain.
It was feared that the 35-year-old, five-time 100m world champion would not have been able to vie for a fifth Diamond League title after complaining of a tight hamstring that forced her to withdraw from Lausanne on August 26 and then finishing second to Jackson in Brussels on September 2, grimacing as she crossed the line in 10.74.
She intimated afterwards that she was unsure whether she would be competing in Zurich and had to listen to her body before making a decision. However, early Monday, she allayed those fears with a post on Facebook.
“The good news is you get to start a new week. Even better, you get to see another exciting race on Thursday,” she said.
“All roads lead to Zurich and I’m extremely grateful to be able to grace the track for this year’s Diamond League finale!”
This has been a history-making season for Fraser-Pryce, who seems to set a new standard each time she steps on the track. Not only did she win a record-extending fifth world 100m title in Oregon in July, she also became the only woman to run faster than 10.7 six times in a single season.
She ran 10.67 to open her season in Nairobi, Kenya on May 7, 10.67 at the Paris Diamond League meeting on June 18, and 10.67 to win the World Championships 100m final in Oregon on July 17.
She was only getting started. On August 6, she ran 10.66 in Poland and two days later, 10.67 in Hungary. She then went on to run 10.62 at the Diamond League meeting in Monaco on August 10, a third time under 10.7 in a week.
The 28-year-old Jamaican, who ran a world-leading 21.45 to win her first individual World Championship gold medal in July, will take on the USA trio of Jenna Prandini, Gabby Thomas and Tamara Clarke, European champion Mujinga Kambundji as well as Tynia Gaither of the Bahamas with a Diamond League trophy at stake.
Supremely confident, Jackson, sporting new hair while seated next to a braided Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce, hinted to members of the media on the eve of the Diamond League finale that the 34-year-old world record of American Florence Griffith-Joyner could be under threat if things go according to plan.
While she didn’t specify what time she was aiming at, Jackson said she set that new goal on returning home to Jamaica after becoming the second-fastest woman all time over the distance following her successful campaign in Eugene, Oregon.
“Before I started the season I wrote that exact time (21.45) on a piece of paper that I left on my trophy stand. I never took a picture with my phone because I wanted that every time I stepped into my house I wanted or go to training, I had that target.
“When I wrote that I went back to training every day and I worked even harder. Some days you might have a bad day but don’t let a bad day get you down.”
The first sign she had that the work she was putting in was paying off was when she ran a then world-leading 21.55 to win at the Jamaica National Championships in June. It was then that she knew that the time she wanted to achieve was within reach.
“Right after the trials, I said ‘okay, it’s coming and I wanted it so bad. Right after trials I went back to training and I achieved that and I am so happy,” she said.
“I went back home though and I wrote a different goal. I wrote another time there because I definitely want to go faster and I think I am capable of doing that. If it’s not done tomorrow then I will come back next season and work even harder.”
Jackson, who also ran a 100m personal best of 10.71 this season, is also on track to win two trophies on Thursday.
She lines up in the 100m finale against friend and compatriot Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce and Diamond League points leader Marie Josee Ta Lou of the Ivory Coast, who has run 10.72 this season, a new lifetime best and African record.
