“I emptied it and left it all,” were words Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce used to describe her final 4×100 meter at the World Athletics Championships on the night of Monday, September 22, after arriving on the island from a 14-hour travel back from Tokyo, Japan.

Back in Japan, the nation where she made her first appearance on the world stage 18 years ago, Fraser-Pryce made the 25th and last global podium of her illustrious career.

With nine World Championships and five Olympic Games now under her belt, the 38-year-old signed off in Tokyo by helping a Jamaican quartet featuring 21-year-old twin sisters Tia and Tina Clayton to world 4x100m silver, which was not in her original plans. In the end, she retired with world silver.

During a brief media mingle hosted by GraceKennedy Group, Fraser-Pryce said after she handed over the baton to Tia Clayton in the women’s 4×400-metre relay at the World Athletics Championships, she was absolutely sure that her decision to step away from the main stage was the right one.

“When I stepped off the track on Sunday night in the pouring rain, I could actually say, ‘I emptied it and left it all’ [on the track],” Fraser-Pryce said.

Fraser-Pryce, her husband Jason, and son Zyon were met by family, friends, sponsors GraceKennedy and Olivia ‘Babsy’ Grange, Minister of Culture, Gender, Entertainment and Sport and hosted at a reception in the VIP Lounge at the airport.

Grange and Gail Moss-Solomon, Chief Legal Counsel and Corporate Secretary, GraceKennedy, both congratulated Fraser-Pryce on closing this chapter of her life and making her nation proud in the long run.

Fraser-Pryce noted that her journey, especially in recent years when she returned to the top of the podium after giving birth to her son and battling through a slew of injuries to earn medals, would inspire others facing challenges.

“You know we are all chasing something, we all have a dream, and we are all looking for more, and if you only start, it’s just a start. I know there are a lot of persons who are afraid to start but sometimes [when] our blessings come, they are bottled or wrapped in some obstacles and some hurdles but they don’t last forever, and it is up to us to find our way through them,” Fraser-Pryce said.

Fraser-Pryce also used the moment to hail other athletes who competed before and during her career, and said she hopes it was an inspiration for others to come.

“To be able to share the moment with upcoming queens that was also remarkable because I remember in 2007 when I started in Osaka (Japan), I was so intimidated by all the other athletes—and I don’t think it’s any fault of theirs—it’s just how I looked at myself at that time.

“So I am hoping that with me there in that moment, they will feel inspired and understand that there is so much more for them to achieve, and they only have to go for it. And yes, you gonna be 21, you gonna be 30 and all the other ages, but as far as I am concerned, nobody can tell you where and how, only you.”