Jamaica’s sprint queens again covered themselves in glory and the entire country has basked in their wonderful achievements. We can all feel proud.

But the day will come when they hang up their spikes and we should not forget what they gave both their country and the sport.

Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce’s accomplishments must rank her among the best ever sports personalities there has ever been. She has won four Olympic gold medals and five World Championship gold medals. At 35, she is running faster times than she did in her 20s.

She has blossomed into an articulate, diplomatic, media-savvy, triumphant, personable track star whose record speaks for itself.

Yet she is still relatively unknown across the world. Yes, we all know Usain Bolt and his effervescent personality sells. His performances over a decade back up his acclaim. 

Fraser-Pryce must be considered up there with Cristiano Ronaldo, Lewis Hamilton, Rafael Nadal, Tom Brady, Serena Williams, and Virat Kohli. Her image should be on the digital boards of Times Square and Piccadilly Circus. She should be commanding millions of dollars in sponsorship deals.

Why? 

Because she embodies and represents the triumph of the will while always being gracious, magnanimous, and fair. If there was ever a time in modern human history that we need these qualities, it is now.

Fraser-Pryce has deals with Digicel, Grace Kennedy and Nike and they would all do well to sweeten the pot. More companies need to get their brands behind her. Shelly-Ann’s lovely face should be gracing the Wheaties box.

Nike got behind Sha’Carri Richardson with millions of dollars, betting on her becoming a track star darling who would strike gold time and time again.

She turned out to be a marijuana-smoking, tattooed ghetto minstrel, expletive-spewing sprinter who couldn’t make the US team for the World Championships and is constantly bested by the Jamaicans.

Last year, after losing out to the Jamaicans, Richardson said: “This is one race. I’m not done. Count me out if you want to…Talk all the shit you want to. You know what I can do.”

So in the words of your sponsor, “Just do it.” Don’t talk a good game, race and win. Beat Shelly, Elaine and Shericka regularly—if you can.

“Between her incredible athletic prowess, her look and her personality, she has lots of attributes that stand out. You put a gold medal around her neck and she is potentially generationally wealthy,” said Doug Shabelman of Burns Entertainment, about Richardson.

He really should be talking here about Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce.

Richardson, though American, is not wholesome enough to connect with a global audience. Sports is a results-based business. Shelly-Ann has two pocketful’s of gold medals. Where are Sha’Carri’s medals? 

If you want to hold up someone who has achieved and continues to achieve in the right manner and conducts herself with equanimity, then you have to reward Shelly. If you want children to aspire to achieve goals with grace, hard work, and a smile on their face, then Shelly-Ann is a fine example.

If you are looking to better yourself with father time tapping on your shoulder, who better to emulate than Shelly-Ann?

The US has produced some fabulous female track stars but in some instances, their achievements were marred by controversies. Marion Jones readily comes to mind. Florence Griffith-Joyner’s legacy has been tainted by accusations of drug use. Shelly Houlihan got banned for drug taking.

This is a fate that has not befallen Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce. She is a clean-living performer who brings natural ability to her endeavours on the track. It makes her an ambassador for what the sport should be about.

Comparing Shelly-Ann with Sha’Carri, as far as performance and marketability are concerned, there is a clear case to be made for getting behind the Jamaican.

There is an argument to be made that Shelly-Ann, at 35, is coming to the end of her career, whereas Sha’Carri at 22 has plenty of road ahead of her. Her mistakes could be put down to her youth and she can still make good and turn it around.

What you can’t be today, you can be tomorrow.

But it is today that counts and Shelly-Ann has been winning and on top for 13 years. Incredible!

Three years ago, her victory made her the first mother in 24 years to win a major 100m title. This week at age 35 she become the oldest sprinter to become World Champion.

She is married with a young son. She holds a Bachelor of Science degree in child adolescent development from the University of Technology Jamaica (UTech). The University of the West Indies (UWI) has conferred the Honorary Degree of Doctor of Laws (LLD) on Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce.

Her story is a remarkable and inspirational one. 

Shelly-Ann should really be looking to amass in excess of US$70 million from her career and that perhaps is a conservative estimate. She has the personality to do film and TV projects which can extend beyond her running days.

On Sha’Carri Richardson’s star power and dream to become one of the best athletes ever, the author of ‘What Great Brands Do‘, Denise Lee Yohn wrote: “From everything I’ve read, she wants to be known as one of the greatest athletes in her sport. She has a great future ahead of her as a sponsored athlete but making too big a deal of this would be a mistake. It makes much more sense to try to reclaim the story after she comes back and wins on the world stage.”

You must do it on the world stage as Shelly-An has done consistently. There is an inverse correlation between victory in the sporting arena and success off it and on social media.

Naomi Osaka and Eugenie Bouchard have made fortunes from endorsements but have struggled to win the big titles. They are big on social media – not so much with picking up the trophies.

The “Pocket Rocket” is the real deal, the complete package.

 “The reality is outside of Olympic time, track and field isn’t something that penetrates the culture on a daily basis. It takes a Usain Bolt, a Jackie Joyner-Kersee, somebody who does insane things,” observed Doug Shabelman.

And somebody like Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce.