After clocking a blistering 9.75 seconds at the Jamaican National Championships in Kingston on June 27, a time that catapulted him to sixth on the all-time men’s 100m list, Kishane Thompson joined the conversation about Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce’s farewell season.
Fresh off a sensational 9.85-second win in the men’s 100m at Hayward Field on July 5, Thompson caught up with Katelyn Hutchison, where talk quickly turned to Shelly-Ann.
With warmth and sincerity, the rising Jamaican sprint star shared his thoughts on the woman known as “Mommy Rocket.”
“The track and field sport has appreciated you so much. You’ve done phenomenal things,” Thompson told Shelly-Ann.
Shelly-Ann, 37, has already secured her spot for what could be her final World Championships, while Thompson is preparing for his very first appearance on the global stage. The Tokyo World Athletics Championships will mark a poignant moment for Jamaican athletics, one chapter closing, another just beginning.
Interestingly, Thompson’s tribute to Shelly-Ann echoed sentiments shared by Usain Bolt just days earlier at the National Championships in Kingston. When asked what Shelly-Ann means to Jamaica, Bolt, who was once the face of sprinting glory alongside her, didn’t hesitate.
“There’s glory and greatness in it. I’m very happy for her. See, her career is longer than mine. It has been a long time, but she keeps going; we need more medals in the country. Happy for that! Big up Shelly!” he said with his trademark grin.
The parallels between Bolt and Shelly-Ann’s careers are well documented. Both stormed onto the international scene in Beijing 2008, both dominated a generation, and both were crowned Male and Female World Athletes of the Year in 2013.
But while Bolt bid farewell to the sport in 2017, Shelly-Ann continued to defy time, injuries, and expectations, collecting world titles and clocking record-breaking times well into her 30s.
Now, with Shelly-Ann’s final lap in sight, a new generation led by Kishane Thompson is emerging. And he knows this is just the beginning.
“I know greater things are in store for me. It’s not going to really sink in until I reach the full capabilities that I know I can reach. And it’s just always being better and better. That’s just me, honestly,” Thompson said.
Whether Tokyo marks the end of a golden era or the spark of a new one, Jamaican sprinting’s legacy, built on humility, respect, and relentless ambition, remains in powerful hands.