KINGSTON, Ja­maica – In a heart­felt cer­e­mo­ny held on Thurs­day, Ja­maican sprint leg­end Shelly-Ann Fras­er-Pryce was pre­sent­ed with the Keys to the City of Kingston, a pres­ti­gious ho­n­our recog­nis­ing her out­stand­ing con­tri­bu­tions to ath­let­ics and her en­dur­ing im­pact on her home­land.

The event took place at Wolmer’s High School, Fras­er-Pryce’s al­ma mater, where her jour­ney to be­com­ing one of the great­est sprint­ers in his­to­ry be­gan.

The cer­e­mo­ny fol­lowed a res­o­lu­tion passed in Sep­tem­ber 2024, which sought to ho­n­our her re­mark­able achieve­ments and her role as an in­spi­ra­tion to count­less Ja­maicans.

“This recog­ni­tion is a tes­ta­ment to Shelly-Ann’s ex­tra­or­di­nary tal­ent, which first shone bright­ly at this very school, and to her un­wa­ver­ing ded­i­ca­tion to up­lift­ing oth­ers,” said Kingston May­or, Coun­cil­lor An­drew Swa­by.

Fras­er-Pryce, af­fec­tion­ate­ly dubbed the “Pock­et Rock­et,” has carved out an in­deli­ble lega­cy in the world of track and field. Born and raised in Kingston, she burst on­to the glob­al stage by win­ning gold in the 100 me­tres at the 2008 Bei­jing Olympics, be­com­ing the first Caribbean woman to achieve the feat.

She suc­cess­ful­ly de­fend­ed her ti­tle at the 2012 Lon­don Olympics and has since amassed nu­mer­ous World Cham­pi­onship ti­tles, ce­ment­ing her sta­tus as a dom­i­nant force in women’s sprint­ing.

Be­yond her ac­co­lades on the track, Fras­er-Pryce has be­come a bea­con of hope and in­spi­ra­tion for as­pir­ing ath­letes and young Ja­maicans.

Through her Pock­et Rock­et Foun­da­tion, she has pro­vid­ed schol­ar­ships and sup­port to young tal­ents, demon­strat­ing her com­mit­ment to nur­tur­ing the next gen­er­a­tion and giv­ing back to her com­mu­ni­ty.

May­or Swa­by high­light­ed that the ho­n­our of re­ceiv­ing the Keys to the City goes be­yond cel­e­brat­ing her ath­let­ic prowess.

“This is not just an ac­co­lade, it is a recog­ni­tion of Shelly-Ann’s im­mense con­tri­bu­tions to Ja­maica’s glob­al rep­u­ta­tion in ath­let­ics and her tire­less ef­forts to in­spire and up­lift young peo­ple.”

CMC