DESPITE being beset by nagging injuries, Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce still did enough to make the list of nominees in a bid to win her third consecutive RJR Sports Foundation National Sportswoman of the Year title.

Fraser-Pryce, who turned 28 years old on December 27, easily won the crown last year following a magnificent 2013 season in which she became the first female sprinter to win three gold medals in the 100m, 200m and 4x100m relay at the IAAF World Championships in Moscow.

Known as the ‘Pocket Rocket’, Fraser-Pryce, despite her injury, had a good season in which she won two gold medals in 2014.

In January, the organisers at the Queen’s/Grace Jackson Invitational Meet arranged a special 60m event to give Jamaican athletes a chance to prepare for the seldom-run event.

Fraser-Pryce said thanks and streaked away for an easy victory in 7.11 seconds as she warmed up for the IAAF World Indoor Championships in March.

Running in lane three in Heat Two, Fraser-Pryce coasted home in 7.12 seconds, the second fastest time into the semi-finals of the two-day championships.

Ivory Coast’s Murielle Ahoure, running in the last and final Heat Six, won in 7.09 seconds. Fraser-Pryce’s teammate Veronica Campbell Brown also advanced to the final, finishing third in Heat Four in 7.22 seconds.

Ahoure was quickest again winning Semi-final One in 7.06 seconds. Jamaica’s Campbell Brown was third in Semi-final Two in 7.17 seconds before Fraser-Pryce showed her readiness with 7.08 seconds. Once again she was second fastest heading into the final.

But Fraser-Pryce always saves her best for the big occasions. Drawn in lane five, with Ahoure just on her outside and Campbell Brown in lane two, the Pocket Rocket flew out of the blocks and was never going to be caught. She stopped the clock in 6.98 seconds, the seventh fastest time in the history of the 60m. Ahoure was second in 7.01, with a rusty Campbell Brown fifth in 7.13.

Fraser-Pryce’s victory in the 60m event made her only the second woman ever to own the world titles at 60m, 100m and 200m simultaneously.

Fraser-Pryce, who came to prominence in the 2008 Beijing Olympics as a raw 21-year-old, would show her versatility and win the 200m at the Jamaica International Invitational Meet on May 3 in 22.51 seconds. A week later in the Doha Diamond League 200m, Fraser-Pryce stopped the clock at 22.48 seconds to win ahead of Sherone Simpson, who did 22.73 seconds.

A few weeks later, despite nursing minor injuries, Fraser-Pryce made herself available for Jamaica at the inaugural World Relays in the Bahamas between May 24 and 25, and anchored the island to bronze in the 4x200m in a national record of 1:30.04 minutes.

However, the team of Simone Facey, Sheri-Ann Brooks, Anneisha McLaughlin and with Fraser-Pryce clearly not at her best, was some way behind the Americans, who took gold in 1:29.45 minutes ahead of Great Britain in 1:29.61 minutes.

The 2013 IAAF Female Athlete of the Year, still nursing an injury, showed her commitment to Jamaica and in August took part at the Commonwealth Games in Scotland.

Fraser-Pryce skipped the more explosive sprints to avoid further aggravating the injury, but anchored the 4x100m team to gold in the Championship. She partnered with Kerron Stewart, Veronica Campbell Brown, and Schillone Calvert to establish a Games Record of 41.83 seconds, well ahead of Nigeria with 42.92, and Great Britain in third in 43.10 seconds.

So despite the persistent injury and loss of training time, Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce finished the year ranked fifth in the 100m.