It was May 2021. The world was different—fragile, confused, suspended in time by a pandemic that blurred calendars and postponed dreams. The Tokyo Olympics loomed uncertainly on the horizon, and even the mightiest athletes scrambled to find patches of normalcy. Training facilities were shut down, competitions canceled, and borders closed. Yet, amidst this haze of uncertainty, one thing glowed with crystalline clarity: Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce’s supremacy in the women’s 100 meters.

That spring evening in Doha, beneath the soft lights of Suheim bin Hamad Stadium, a breeze whispered across the track. The stage was subdued, the grandstands quieter than usual, but Shelly-Ann was electric. In 10.84 seconds (+1.1), she reminded the world that greatness doesn’t falter. Instead, it adapts; it endures. And now, four years down the line and one more World championship gold and an Olympic silver later, things are both similar and different at the same time. But Shelly-Ann has a new promise to make to her fans and her rivals.

While new stars might have risen, the old order isn’t ready to give up its crown just yet. And though the 100m has evolved, Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce has remained the constant. And here she is stepping onto the same track where, four years ago, she carved a timeless moment. The spikes are laced. The lanes are numbered. And the queen of the sprint is ready—again. Additionally, that mindset was visible when she appeared at the pre-race meet. 

On the eve of her long-awaited return to the Doha Diamond League, Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce didn’t boast. She didn’t rattle off stats or legacy milestones. Instead, under the bright lights of the pre-meet press conference on May 15, she did something far more powerful—she made a promise. With calm determination in her voice and the quiet fire of a champion in her eyes, she said, “For me, the last two years I’ve raced sparingly. I really want to get back into that race sharpness. I really want to get back into some competitive races.” 

It wasn’t just about the clock. It was about completing the story. The story that should’ve ended in Budapest 2023, where, despite limping through the races, she carried Jamaica to the silver in the 4x100m. But not satisfied with just the silver, she continued to Paris to once again make her mark at the grandest stage of them all. But here, once again, her body betrayed her. And she had just one thing to say: “My faith has always affirmed my trust in my journey.” And then—no races, no splits, no sound.

Ten months after heartbreak in Paris, the lights of Kingston flickered on—and there she was. Lime-green hair, lane three, eyes locked on the horizon. The gun fired. 10.94 seconds—not her fastest, but more than enough. A statement. Days later in Guangzhou, she anchored Jamaica to bronze at the World Relays. Baton in hand, she flew through the final stretch. Bronze for the team, but gold for her comeback.

Shelly-Ann was back—and the fight was on. “This has been the best year I’ve had in terms of training in the last three years, so I’m really looking forward to see, you know, just the execution and, you know, just working on putting the race together tomorrow, and I think tomorrow is going to be special,” She said in the press meet. Special. The word didn’t float; it thundered. Now, as she is on her Diamond League lane again, let’s check her past performances in the contest. 

Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce’s milestone in the Diamond League 

Back in 2021, under the cool night skies of Lausanne, Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce scorched the track in 10.60 seconds—the third-fastest 100m in women’s history, pushing down Carmelita Jeter’s 12-year-old record (10.64 seconds)—edging past Elaine Thompson-Herah just five days after Elaine had clocked 10.54, the second-fastest ever. Fairy tale? Absolutely. And to tease the magic in it, the 34-year-old mentioned, “Believe it or not, I have still not run my best race—I know there is more to give.”

And she wasn’t bluffing.  The following year, in Silesia, Poland, Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce clocked 10.66, the fastest women’s 100m of 2022 (later the status was changed). “I always come into races expecting to run fast,” she said—confident, composed, relentless. That same season, she graced the track in Zurich, marking her last Diamond League appearance—until now.

In her 12-year Diamond League saga, Fraser-Pryce has collected 5 Diamond Trophies and 25 race wins, and here’s the kicker: she has never lost a Diamond League final. So as she steps back onto the Diamond League stage in 2025, one question simmers in the air: Will she repeat history—or rewrite it altogether?