Shelly-Ann Fraser-pryce, OD, is a Jamaican national track and field athlete who compete in both the hurdles, long jump and high jump. Shelly is currently ranked at number fifteen in the world and has contested the American and Brazilian national teams. Shelly was born in Pine Valley, Jamaica where she was a first-time mother and grew up in Runway, Jamaica. Shelly has consistently represented the Jamaican National Team four times and also competed for the Caribbean nation in the World Juniors in 1994. Since then, Shelly has consistently fought to be the best in the world and currently leads the all time recorded high jump record with a leap of 5.kaa.
Shelly-Ann’s brother, Ryan, was a basketball star in high school and signed with the Los Angeles Lakers when he was 16. However, he failed to make the NBA and now works as a basketball coach in Brazil. Shelly-Ann began playing tennis at a very young age and became passionate about the sport which led her to become a long-time tennis player. Over the years, Shelly-Ann has added track and field to her list of sports and earned herself a degree in exercise science at St. John’s College in North Palm Beach, Florida.
Her experience in track and field did not deter her from competing in the Olympics, where in 1996 she became part of the Canadian team that finished fourth. However, it was not long before she decided to pursue a career in track and field professionally and began competing internationally. Shelly-Ann currently competes alongside her husband, Ryan, in the Bahamas where they are currently tied in second place with Canada. Shelly-Ann’s biggest competition in the athletic world is her countrywoman, Pauline O’Sullivan who is two inches taller than her. However, if the two finish the next to the Americans in the men’s Olympic gold medal standings, then the O’ Sullivan will win the vacant slot after the British won the Olympic games last year.