BBC Online :
“I’ve had big things. I’m trying to get to the great things.”
In Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce’s world, two Olympic gold medals and nine World Championship titles only count as ‘big’.
Three Olympic gold medals, now that would be ‘great’.
If the Jamaican sprinter justifies favouritism in the 100m, she’d be the first woman to win one individual Olympic track and field event three times, adding to her victories in 2008 and 2012.
“Man, that would be crazy,” she tells BBC Sport with a laugh.
“For me, looking back I never even thought of myself as an Olympian. I never thought that I wanted to be a professional runner, I was just doing it, I wasn’t thinking about it. To see how far I’ve come and the things I’ve been able to accomplish, I still pinch myself because I just cannot believe it.”
She’s also a strong contender in the 200m, and isn’t playing down her chances.
“I am definitely looking forward to standing on the podium in both”.
Despite admitting she is “not young in terms of track”, Fraser-Pryce has shown blistering pace this season.
In June, she clocked 10.63 seconds in the 100m, in doing so becoming the fastest woman alive, and the second-fastest of all time behind American legend Florence Griffith-Joyner.
“I was floored, I couldn’t even believe it. I am excited I was able to come so close [to Griffith-Joyner’s record of 10.49secs, set in 1988] and I am definitely looking forward to going even faster in Tokyo.
“Nobody is going in there thinking ‘OK she already won the medal’ or something like that, you have to go there and actually deliver.”
