Fraser leads Jamaican sweep
Shelly-Ann Fraser led home a Jamaican clean sweep in the final of the women's 100m at the Beijing Olympics.
Last Updated: 17/08/08 6:08pm
Shelly-Ann Fraser led home a Jamaican clean sweep in the final of the women's 100m at the Beijing Olympics.
Fraser, 21, won in a personal best time of 10.78 seconds to become the first Jamaican to win the title.
She led from the blocks to finish well clear of her fellow countrywomen Sherone Simpson and Kerron Stewart, who dead-heated for silver in a time of 10.98 seconds.
The race completed an incredible weekend for the Caribbean island, which also provided the winner of the men's 100m in Usain Bolt.
Jamaica has a rich history in sprinting but had never won a men's or women's Olympic gold in the 100m before.
Inspired
"I was inspired by last night," Fraser said. "This is a crazy Bolt effect."
"I was thinking before the race about winning. I thought to myself, 'Calm down. You have to win first. You need to go out there and do it.'
"I'm just so happy to put Jamaica on the map. No one expected me to win so there was no pressure."
Jeanette Kwakye - the first Briton to reach the sprint final since Heather Oakes in 1984 - finished sixth in a personal best of 11.14 seconds.
Lauryn Williams, who won silver in the Athens Games in 2004, finished fourth in 11.03, the best of the three Americans in the race.
Her team-mate Muna Lee rebounded from a terrible start to claim fifth in 11.07, while Torri Edwards, who came into the race as the season's fastest woman, finished last in a time of 11.20.
The United States later failed in a protest against the result of the race, claiming unsuccessfully that Edwards had made a false start and that the runners should have been recalled.
