KINGSTON, Jamaica — Iconic Jamaican sprinter Shelly‑Ann Fraser‑Pryce, competing in what was meant to be her final Olympic Games, stunned fans when she withdrew from the women’s 100m semifinal at the Paris 2024 Olympics, reportedly due to an injury sustained during warm-ups. The abrupt end brought an emotional close to her individual Olympic campaign — or so the world thought.

However, in a recent interview with Marie Claire, the eight-time Olympian revealed that the official story didn’t tell the full truth as conditions leading up to that moment ultimately derailed her Olympic swansong.

“Last year was very hard for me mentally and physically,” she said. “I’ve always done it for the flag and showed up to do it for my country. But what happened in Paris, that was a ‘me’ decision.”

After running a solid 10.92 seconds in the heats and advancing to the semifinals, Fraser‑Pryce was soaking in what was expected to be her final individual Olympic appearance. But that moment was quickly undone by confusion at the gate at Stade Annexe.

“They tell me that the gate is closed, and I’m like, well, the track is like right there and I used the gate yesterday. They tell me that they made the decision to not use the gate that morning.”

Fraser‑Pryce was left standing outside the track for at least 30 minutes while officials made calls presumably to verify her access. She had hoped the issue would be cleared up quickly, given she had passed through the same gate the day before.

“It wasn’t like there were a hundred people trying to go through the gate,” she said. “Walking to another entrance meant going by pedestrians and other attendees walking.”

The delay significantly cut into her critical three-hour warm-up window as she had to use another gate. She had lost an hour. Her body was tight, her focus shattered. During her final warm-up reps, she knew something was off, her muscles were cramping, and mentally, she was spiralling.

“I was probably having a panic attack,” she admitted. “I felt I could see it in front of me—and it was ripped [out of my hands]. I’m a warrior; I’m a fighter. I love rising to the occasion. I wanted to do it for my country, but I had to ask, ‘what’s right for me?”

Ultimately, she made the heartbreaking decision to withdraw and was officially marked as “DNS” (did not start) just moments before the race.

The withdrawal shocked Jamaica and track fans around the world.

Now, a year later, the five-time 100m world champion is ready to reset. She’s preparing to compete at the World Athletics Championships in Tokyo this September, determined to close her legendary career on her own terms.