Jamaican Olympians Bertland Cameron and John Muir say that they are not surprised by the departures of sprinting great Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce and Olympic 110m hurdles bronze medallist Rasheed Broadbell from the Reynaldo Walcott-led Elite Performance Track and Field Club.

Fraser-Pryce, 37, a founding member of the organisation, has reportedly parted ways with the camp after helping to establish the group in 2016, following her initial split with long-time coach Stephen Francis of MVP Track Club. The two-time world champion left MVP permanently in 2019. Up to press time on Wednesday it was not clear where Fraser-Pryce will move to.

Broadbell, who won bronze at the 2024 Summer Olympic Games in Paris, is also exiting Elite Performance and is expected to rejoin the MVP Track Club, where he got his big break in the sport before leaving in 2021 to join Walcott’s programme. Broadbell, 24, is the reigning Commonwealth Games sprint hurdles champion.

“I don’t know the details as to why they have moved on, but what I can say is that we are in a professional world in sports, especially in Jamaica, and athletes are going to move on while others will stay because they want the major prize,” said Cameron, who is head coach of Cameron Blazers.

“With Shelly-Ann, she felt that it was time; she has done her best with coach Walcott and has decided that she wants to move on. That’s the queen of the sport, and she must know what is best for her. We just have to hope for the best for her,” he noted.

“[Broadbell] has also done well for himself since joining Elite Performance from MVP Track Club a few years ago, so his return to MVP Track Club must be a personal choice,” Cameron, a former World Athletics Championships and Commonwealth Games gold medallist in the 400m, said.

“He has done very well since he has been with Walcott. He won a bronze medal at the Olympics, but maybe his expectations are higher, and he wants to try something else. We just have to hope for the best for these athletes, because it is their lives,” Cameron said.

Muir pointed out that he supports any decision Fraser-Pryce makes about her future in the sport because she is a scholar of the sport and he trusts that she will do what is best for her career.

“Nothing surprises me anymore because we are in a professional world, and people choose to move on to do what is in their best interest. Shelly is the biggest thing in women’s track and field and she is the queen of track and field and is looked up to all over the world.

“Shelly, for me, is a very intellectual and smart young lady, and whenever she does anything, I do not question it because she knows what is best for her,” Muir said.

He also highlighted that Broadbell has grown in the sport since joining Elite Performance Track Club, so his decision to leave must have been a tough choice.

“With young Broadbell, I don’t know what transpired with him. I know that he was at MVP before he went to coach Walcott, and maybe he feels he is missing something at MVP with coach Francis. I wish him all the best,” Muir said.

There are reports that another Elite Performance athlete, Elaine Thompson-Herah, is set to leave the club and rejoin MVP Track Club.

Thompson, the double Olympic sprint champion in 2016 and 2020, is reportedly in advanced negotiations with MVP, which could pave the way for another world-renowned athlete to return to the University of Technology-based club.

It is unclear whether other high-profile athletes from the Elite Performance group, such as Rushell Clayton, a two-time World Championships bronze medal winner, and quarter-miler Stacey-Ann Williams, will remain with Walcott.