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What's next for Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce?

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After over a decade of dominance, what's one more year to Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce?

After over a decade of dominance, what's one more year to Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce?

The GOAT of female sprinting will be 34 when the Tokyo Olympics finally roll around, but if her comeback in 2019 taught us anything, it's that history can wait.

Sitting at her home in Kingston, Jamaica - where she's currently under a curfew during the coronavirus pandemic - Fraser-Pryce opens up about all things Tokyo, her last dance in Oregon, the new Nike spikes that are set to see records fall and of course her two-year-old son Zyon…

The six-time Olympic medallist and nine-time world champion seems almost embarrassed when I reel off her achievements.

A list that culminated last September - after a break from the sport to become a mum - with a fourth world title over 100m. A haul that's more than any other athlete in history, even her illustrious compatriot Usain Bolt.

Victory in the 100m next summer would make her the first female to claim a trio of Olympic sprint golds - but for now, that's on hold.

"I was devastated," Fraser-Pryce told Sky Sports News, when asked about learning the Tokyo Games would be postponed until 2021.

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"I was like 'wow, what do I do next'. I'm 33, this is my final Olympics. I've been grateful and honoured to go to three already so I was like 'wow' my plans just went 'puff' in front of me.

"The plan was definitely to do the double this year but with the Olympics being pushed back to 2021 it's a different test now, something we have to revisit to see if it makes sense.

"I won't risk losing a gold medal in the 100m to go for the 100m and the 200m, but the bigger the goal and the bigger the chase, I'm all in."

Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce celebrates after winning the Women's 100 Metres final at the 2019 World Athletics Championships in Doha 2019
Image: Fraser-Pryce celebrates after winning the women's 100m final at the 2019 World Athletics Championships in Doha

When asked if she had any concerns over the Olympics being further delayed, Fraser Pryce added: "Right now I try not to entertain that at all because it is a real concern. I'm just focused on hopefully having some sort of a season."

The World Athletics Championships in Oregon - which were due to take place in the summer of 2021 - have also been pushed back and will take place in 2022, an event which is set to be Fraser-Pryce's final outing on the track.

"That could definitely be my last major and my last competition altogether," she said.

"For a lot of my family and friends, it's very expensive for them to travel to Tokyo but knowing the World Championships would be in Oregon, it is right there so a lot of them were excited.

"Some of my family have never seen me compete internationally - what a way to wrap things up. I take it a year at a time, I don't get to get too ahead of myself, and I want to enjoy it, savour the moment, and continue to create history."

History, it's clear, dominates our chat.

Doing the impossible, the unthinkable and proving people wrong.

Nothing sent a clearer message than her return to the track last September to win the world 100m title, over a decade after her first global gold. The ultimate comeback.

"When I got pregnant and I was turning 30 I was mortified, I was like 'no, this is not the right time'," she said.

"I've always been driven and motivated to chase the impossible, that's always been me.

"So when that opportunity came and I had my son and I went back into practice, I was all in. I went to meets in 2018 and lost races, but I knew the ultimate goal.

Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce
Image: Fraser-Pryce's last outing with come in 2022 at the World Athletics Championships in Oregon

"To come away with that victory in 2019 was crazy, it was unbelievable and to have my son witness that moment was even more priceless. I'm telling you - nothing beats coming back, when everyone thought that was it."

Victory in Doha was even more impressive considering her time - 0.01seconds off her personal best of 10.70 set in 2012, the fourth fastest time in history.

With all sport on hold, so is the opportunity to test out Nike's futuristic sprint spikes, designed specifically to make a difference in the critical last 20 meters of a 100m race.

The shoes are no gimmick, with Kenya's Eliud Kipchoge using similar technology to become the first man in history to break the two-hour marathon mark.

"I was supposed to be testing those and everything went haywire with corona but I'm excited about the spikes," Fraser-Pryce said.

"You know a girl can work with that 20m so I'm looking forward to testing them and if we do get to compete this season - even if it's in an empty stadium with no fans.

"It would be an honour for me to run in those spikes and get to the line, and if the clock says 10.6 I'll be screaming and jumping because I've been working really hard towards that goal."

Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce
Image: Fraser-Pryce is already a six-time Olympic medallist and nine-time world champion

Fraser-Pryce's son is present throughout the interview. Not in person, but in the form of a giant canvas on the wall behind her in their Kingston home.

Another clear sign she is not just Shelly-Ann the athlete, one of the greats, but Shelly-Ann, the mum.

"At the end of the day, track and field is for a time, and things will happen, but being his mum and raising him and just being a mother is a lifetime and it's priceless," she said.

"I slept with my son the night before the 100m final [in Doha] and I had no sleep - my husband was like 'are you sure you want to do that' and I'm like 'yeah why not'.

"Hopefully in another couple of years he'll be able to look back and say we did this together, my mother is strong.

"I'm hoping to leave a legacy not just for young girls and young boys but a legacy for Zyon to understand that nothing is impossible."