Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce Reveals Why She Snubbed Recovery in Jamaica for New York Post-Paris Olympics Injury

After being heartbreakingly sidelined from the 2024 Paris Olympics due to injury, sprint legend Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce made a surprising decision, not to recover in her beloved Jamaica, but instead retreat to New York.

Despite her deep ties to her homeland, where she grew up, built her family, and founded the Pocket Rocket Foundation to uplift student-athletes, the Jamaican icon chose solitude and self-reflection in the U.S. as she faced a pivotal crossroad in her decorated career.

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“We came to New York and I took literally three months, just nothing but resting. The last time I took three months off, I was pregnant,” Fraser-Pryce revealed in a recent interview with Essence.

“But this was three months to kind of really just sit with myself to think about what’s next. What do I do for me, and make that decision solely for me, it can’t be about anybody else.”

The 37-year-old’s words underscored the emotional and mental weight that came with her Olympic absence.

For an athlete who has spent over two decades at the peak of global sprinting, the decision to step away and prioritize personal clarity rather than external expectations marked a defining moment.

With the World Athletics Championships set for September in Tokyo, a city where she famously won Olympic silver in 2021, Fraser-Pryce is eyeing yet another historic showing.

She remains the only female sprinter to have won five 100m world titles, her last gold coming in 2022 before a bronze finish in 2023.

And despite inching closer to 40, the Pocket Rocket is not counting herself out.

She qualified for the Tokyo World Championships back in June, and her resilience continues to defy age and odds.