MOSCOW, Russia — Shelly-Ann Fraser Pryce continues to rewrite Jamaica’s storied female sprinting history as last night in a cool Luzhnikki stadium on the banks of the Moscow River she added the gold medal in the 200m to the one she won in the 100m four days earlier to become the first Jamaican woman to win the double at the World Championships.

Fraser-Pryce clocked 22.17 seconds to join elite sprinting company becoming only the third woman after Silke Gladisch of the former East Germany in 1987 in Rome and Germany’s Katrin Krabbe in 1991 in Tokyo ever to cop the double.

The gold and a near miraculous silver in the men’s’ 4x400m relay improved Jamaica’s tally to five (three gold, a silver and a bronze) and placed the country in fifth place on the medals tables.

The United States lead with 16 medals followed by Russia with 11, Kenya with nine and Germany with six.

For Fraser-Pryce, however, the journey to the top of the world’s sprinting started six years ago when as a relative unknown winning the Jamaican Trials there were pressures to remove her from the team to the Beijing Olympic Games.

The hurt from then, she said, has fuelled her each successive season to work hard in training and to push her body even further than she knew it could go to achieve her success.

“I am feeling glad,” she said, “this goes back to 2008 when persons who didn’t know who I was but lots of them wanted me out of that 100m and to place someone else there and the fact is this is where I am after 2008. (It) makes me wonder what if persons don’t not get the chance they deserve as everyone needs a chance.”

As she did in the 100m on Monday, Fraser Pryce won by a comfortable margin, possibly as her main rival and former three-time champion Allyson Felix twisted her ankle early in the race and failed to finish.

Meanwhile, Usain Bolt stayed on course for Jamaica’s golden double-double after he eased through the semi-finals of the men’s 200m, qualifying with countrymen Warren Weir and Nickel Ashmeade.

Long jumper Damar Forbes made it to the top-eight for the first time in three global competitions, but finished eighth with his best mark 8.02m coming on his first jump of the competition.

Sprint hurdlers sisters Shermaine and Danielle Williams and Andrea Bliss are into the semi-finals of the 100m hurdles today and hopefully the final as well.

Fraser-Pryce got off to her usual brilliant start, came off the bend first and powered through the straight as her coach Stephen Francis had drawn up the plans earlier as Ivory Coast’s Murielle Ahoure grabbed her second silver medal (22.32 seconds), while Nigeria’s Blessing Okagbare was third in the same time.

After her struggles Fraser-Pryce said she hoped her victory would inspire others in Jamaica, especially young women.

“The hands of God had a huge part to play in this victory and my career as well and it is something to inspire lots of Jamaicans, male especially to understand that it does not matter how tall you are or short you are, or how fat and how slim or whatever, if you want something and you believe in yourself then u can accomplish it.”

While speaking of her dislike for the event previously and shying away from running it, she said it helped her 100m and last night “decided to let it out all on the track”.

“My coach before I came out said for the past few meets I had not been running the corner as I should… and tonight I decided to run the first 100m like a train, I was going to come off the corner and I was going to hit the straight and power home and I think the fact it actually happened the way I wanted it to speaks to the level of commitment I have for the 200m,” said Fraser-Pryce.

In the men’s 200m, Bolt once again as he did in the first round ran only well enough to advance, winning his heat in 20.12 seconds, the fourth fastest time of the day, right behind Nickel Ashmeade’s 20.00 seconds, while Warren Weir ran 20.20 seconds.

The fourth Jamaican Jason Livermore failed to advance to the final.

American Curtis Mitchell had the fastest time in 19.97 seconds with Great Britain’s World Junior Championships 100m gold medallist Adam Gemili next with a personal best 19.98 seconds.

An ice bath and a good night’s rest, Bolt said, would be sufficient to get him ready for today’s final, and despite the fact that after five races this week and feeling some fatigue, he plans to run all out and see how fast he can go.

He won’t be taking anyone lightly, he said, despite the lack of depth in the field. “You never know as everyone’s been running well, I will run my hardest but I never worry in a final,” he said.

He was hoping to get an outside lane for the final, but the lane draw sees him in lane four which he says forces him to work that much harder.

After the frustrations of Daegu and the London Olympics, Forbes finally made it past the preliminaries in the long jump, but said after his first jump, fatigue led to a number of fouls.

“This is the World Champs, these are the best jumpers in the world and I can call myself one of them. Eighth in the final is not where I want to be; everyone in the field know I am better than where I placed, I know I am better than where I placed,” he said.

Next year with no collegiate career to concentrate on, Forbes said he should be better. “I did not work hard enough , but that’s the nature of the sport,” he noted.