A combination of injuries was enough to send the fastest woman alive into self-doubt. For over 40% of athletes, psychological impact takes a greater toll than physical pain, and Shericka Jackson was no exception. But the Jamaican “patted herself on the shoulder and learned from her mistakes,” as part of her plan, and the results followed. With two consecutive victories in Shanghai and Xiamen Diamond Leagues, she is back to her very best.

The 31-year-old touched on her injury problems ahead of the Xiamen DL in a press conference and reiterated it after smashing the meet record in the 200m.

“You know getting hurt isn’t really what you want, and I think for me it’s not about the fast or slow,” Jackson said after the meet. “It’s just about focusing on myself for the last year. The focus was just to stay healthy. I think I got a little niggle at the World Championships. That’s why I started the season a little bit later than usual. So now focusing on working on fine details and learning proper technique under pressure.”

That has worked to perfection for Jackson. The 31-year-old flew past Sha’Carri Richardson, Shaunae Miller-Uibo, Anavia Battle, and others to finish with a time of 21.87 seconds. That put her just 0.01 seconds off Julien Alfred’s world-leading time in the 200m. However, it smashed the Xiamen DL meet record and is also her fastest time in three years.

It marks a remarkable return to action for the 31-year-old, especially given the problems she’s endured. After all, for Jackson, even a combination of hamstring and quad injuries, it ruled her out of the 2024 Olympics. The Jamaican ensured that she took her time with rehab and recovery, slowly making her way back in 2025. Yet that injury layoff marked one of the darkest in Jackson’s career.

She even admitted that she did “struggle with how to bounce back from getting hurt that badly” with a recurrence of the injury playing on her mind as well. More than anything, that’s why she took her time to recover in 2025. By mid-2025, she was back and went on an incredible streak until the Tokyo World Championships. So much so that she won five out of the ten races she competed in.

However, a bronze medal in the 200m in Tokyo was a failure for her. The 31-year-old even admitted that she rushed things, “because I wanted to defend my title in the 200”. That, more than anything, changed her approach for the 2026 season, as she skipped the indoor portion. Instead, Shericka Jackson focused solely on becoming mentally strong and staying fit for an entire term.

“I went there where I got myself mentally strong, ’cause it’s all about mental for me,” Jackson said ahead of the Xiamen DL. “And last year, as I said, I rushed myself a little bit ’cause I wanted to really defend my title in the two hundred, but that didn’t happen. But as I say, it was a pat on the shoulder, and this year we focus on not rushing the season.”

“I didn’t do indoor even though I wanted to run some 60s, but we were patient… After the 200 at the World Championships, I could not participate any longer because we didn’t want to risk it. I think I got a little niggler.”

It echoed what other sprinters had done, including Sha’Carri Richardson, who started her 2026 season very late. So late that the Xiamen DL marked only her second race of the term, with the Shanghai race acting as her season opener. The American wasn’t the only one, as 2026 Xiamen DL 200m second-place Shaunae Miller-Uibo also adopted a similar approach.

It’s one well used within the sprinting community, and it has clearly worked wonders for Jackson. 

Shericka Jackson reflects on her 200m Xiamen DL performance

Despite her injury issues in 2024 and her late start to the 2026 season, Shericka Jackson still remains a force to be reckoned with. More than anything, the Jamaican is arguably the best sprinter in the world and has proven that this season, time after time. The Shanghai DL win showcased that more than anything, but then in Xiamen, she stepped things up.

So much so, that Jackson came within 0.01 seconds of Julien Alfred’s world-leading time in the 200m while clocking one of her fastest times ever. Not her fastest, mind you, that is 21.41, which is more than 0.50 seconds faster than the time she registered in Xiamen. Yet for Jackson, her focus is simply to be her best self on the track while having fun.

“For me, it’s just be patient, be myself and have some fun,” Jackson said as per Olympic.com. “Last year, I won a bronze medal [at the World Championships in Tokyo]. I definitely wasn’t satisfied, but I wouldn’t say ‘I’m back’ because last year I was competing. Regardless of how fit I was, I showed up.”

The 30-year-old has fine-tuned herself quite a bit over the years and hasn’t stopped even now. So much so that now, she’s focusing on making her curve running even faster.

“I am continuing to work on the fine details. I am a good curve runner and I wanted to run the curve as hard as possible,” she added.

“I think I did pretty good tonight. This is the hardest I have ever run a curve since probably 2023. Just to be here and having run and healthy, I’m OK.”

That showed in Xiamen as Shericka Jackson started from lane 7 and still led from the start. It helped her power past Shaunae Miller-Uibo and Sha’Carri Richardson on the bend to take the lead, a position she never gave up till the end.  Now, two DL wins later, and Shericka Jackson has kept her promise to herself.