She doesn’t get the type of headlines that Usain Bolt laps up, but Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce is matching the world’s fastest man medal for golden medal.
With her long braided hair dyed green, crowned by a band of yellow daisies, Jamaica’s “Pocket Rocket” won a record third women’s world 100 meters title in Beijing Monday — just 24 hours after Bolt completed a treble with his much-heralded triumph over Justin Gatlin.
It came in the same Bird’s Nest stadium where both won their first Olympic golds back in 2008, and since then the duo have been mostly unbeatable in the biggest races.
At just five feet tall, the 28-year-old is tiny in comparison to the 6ft 5in Bolt, but her achievements are in the same stratosphere.
Like her compatriot, Fraser-Pryce will be seeking a third successive Olympic title at Rio 2016.
She clocked 10.76 seconds — 0.02s slower than her leading 2015 time — to head off Dutch runner Dafne Schippers (10.81), who won a bronze medal in the heptathlon at the last world championships in 2013.
American Tori Bowie was third in 10.86.
“I’m getting tired of 10.7s,” Fraser-Pryce told reporters. “I just want to put a good race together and hopefully in the next race I get the time I’m working for.
“I definitely think a 10.6 is there. Hopefully I will get it together. I just trust in God, work hard and focus on executing.”
Unlike Bolt, Fraser-Pryce will not be defending her 200 meters title this week.
“I am not considering the 200m, the plan has already been to only run the 100m,” confirmed Fraser-Pryce.
She is part of a Jamaican team that has dominated world sprinting in recent years, despite the tiny Caribbean island’s population base of just three million people.
“My message always is: No matter where you are from, no matter what past you have, it is all about your future and your goals,” Fraser-Pryce said.
“No matter what comes, I will always work hard and do my best.”
Compatriot Veronica Campbell-Brown, the 2007 world champion, came home fourth and Natasha Morrison was seventh, but teammate Sherone Simpson — the 2008 Olympic silver medalist — failed to qualify for the final.
In the women’s 10,000m race, Kenya’s 2011 champion Vivian Cheruiyot added a second gold to her medal collection.
Ethiopia’s Gelete Burka was second while Americans Emily Infeld and Molly Huddle were third and fourth respectively. Infeld snatched bronze on the line after her teammate celebrated too early.
Colombia’s Caterine Ibarguen defended her triple-jump title, beating Ukraine-born Hanna Minenko — who since 2013 has competed for Israel, the homeland of her husband.
Kazakhstan’s Olympic champion Olga Rypakova was third.
In men’s events, young Canadian Shawnacy Barber claimed the pole-vault title on a countback from defending champion Raphael Holzdeppe of Germany.
Both had a best effort of 5.90 meters, but the 21-year-old triumphed by virtue of not having missed a leap at any of the lower heights.
Kenya had a clean sweep in the 3,000m steeplechase as two-time Olympic champion Ezekiel Kemboi won his fourth successive world title from 2013 runner-up Conseslus Kipruto, with compatriot Brimin Kaputo — the 2007 victor — taking bronze.
