Multiple Olympic and World Championship gold medallist, Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce, is urging Jamaicans to throw their support behind the country’s male athletes in Tokyo, Japan, who, for many, have not performed up to the same high standards compared to the previous three Olympic Games.
Fraser-Pryce made the appeal while giving a media interview following the conclusion of both the women’s and men’s 4x100-metre relay finals on Friday morning Jamaica time.
The women’s team, which included Fraser-Pryce, double 100m and 200m champion Elaine Thompson-Herah, Brianna Williams, and Shericka Jackson, decimated the field to win their event.
The win gave Jamaica its eighth medal, which includes four gold, one silver, and three bronze, all but two of which have been won by the females.
The men’s team of Jevaughn Minzie, Julian Forte, Yohan Blake, and Oblique Seville finished fifth.
“First of all, I must say (to) all the Jamaicans who beating the men and cussing and (making) negative comments, unno need fi stop it,” said Fraser-Pryce.
She added that “It takes a lot of guts, hard work year-to-year to come out here and to represent (the country)”.
Fraser-Pryce also highlighted that “a lot of people are competing at these championships and some are going away without making the finals. We were in the finals so we need to start celebrating the men because their time is coming and we don’t want no ‘waggonist’ so yeah, support the men”.
The two medals won by the men’s team came in the 110-metre hurdles.
Jamaicans erupted with pure joy when Hansle Parchment sped to victory in 13.04 seconds, in the process inflicting the biggest upset in track and field at the Games as he defeated the howling favourite, Grant Holloway of the United States. Ronald Levy, the 2018 Commonwealth champion was third in the event thus winning a second medal for the Jamaican men.
-Pryce said she and her victorious teammates were waiting trackside to celebrate with the Jamaican men but it wasn’t to be after their fifth-place finish.
Source: https://jamaica.loopnews.com