With 2024 being Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce’s last dance on the track, one cannot help but look back at her immense contributions to the sport. However, the spotlight on Fraser-Pryce has made fans quite curious to learn more about her coach.
Interestingly, the athlete has changed coaches twice in her nearly two-decade-long professional career. She initially trained with Stephen Francis from 2006 to 2020 and then with Reynaldo Walcott from 2020 to the present day. In fact, Fraser-Pryce even invited a lot of criticism after leaving the MVP Track Club in 2020, but her fans rested easy once they witnessed her performance at the Tokyo Olympics.
Under Walcott’s tutelage, Fraser-Pryce won silver and gold medals in the 100-meter sprint and 4×100-meter relay competitions at the 2021 Tokyo Olympics. The Jamaican even maintained her form in the 2022 season, winning gold in the 100-meter and silver in the 200-meter and 4×100-meter relay at the Eugene World Championships. Furthermore, in the 2023 season, she bronze in the 100-meter sprint and silver in the 4×100-meter relay at the Budapest World Championships.
Something That Makes Fraser-Pryce’s Coach Unique
Coach Reynaldo Walcott has always been confident in his athletes. He is undoubtedly younger than Fraser-Pryce, but his expertise is invaluable, as evidenced by his athletes’ dominance on the track. He has also worked at the MVP Track Club, where Shelly-Ann trained under Stephen Francis, and this experience has contributed significantly to his success as a coach.
Readers will be interested to know that there’s a certain style in which Reynaldo trains his athletes. Instead of acting as a mentor, he prefers to act as a friend, since this allows for better connection and helps him understand what the athlete is going through.
While training top athletes like Fraser-Pryce, he also makes certain that he does not overburden them or force them to practice for long hours while adhering to the schedule, as he understands that athletes of such caliber have other responsibilities besides just putting their all into track and field.
Fraser-Pryce on Hanging Up Her Running Shoes After the Olympic Games
Everyone in the track world is aware of Fraser-Pryce’s retirement announcement, including her coach, Reynaldo Walcott. Her final race will be in Paris, where she has already clinched a spot in the 100-meter sprint.
She has been an elite runner for over 15 years, with nearly half of them as a mother, and now that she is saying to her beloved sport, Fraser-Pryce wants to spend meaningful time with her family. The Jamaican sprinter also made it clear that she was not forced to step down, but rather desired to end her career on her own terms. Fraser-Pryce further revealed that her family needs her and that she wants to repay the support they have provided her throughout her elite sporting journey.
The Jamaican athlete will face several strong competitors at the Paris Olympics, including her own teammate Shericka Jackson and American rival Sha’Carri Richardson in the 100 meters. However, she is determined to make the most of her final opportunity and anticipates a fairytale ending to her illustrious career.
