Helpless! That’s the feeling Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce might have experienced when her calls and WhatsApp messages to Coach Reynaldo Walcott went unanswered at a critical moment. Now, at 37, she is parting ways with Walcott and the Elite Performance track club, where she has been her coach since early 2020. Under his mentorship, she improved her personal best from 10.70 seconds to 10.60 seconds. Even in 2022, she made history as the first woman to run sub-10.7 seconds.
However, since that season, Fraser-Pryce has faced back-to-back challenges. Injuries, especially a knee injury, have plagued her. At the 2023 World Championships in Budapest, Fraser-Pryce finished third in the 100m, a stark drop from her dazzling form the previous year. All these apparently developed a chilly dynamic between her and Walcott, particularly during the 2024 season. But the partnership between the two has been quite long.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce left her then-coach Stephen Francis, and the MVP track club. She then teamed up with Walcott to establish the Elite Performance Track Club. Notably, Walcott, who has been training professional sprinters since 2016, also worked at the famed MVP Track Club before he left to start his own camp. Regarding Shelly-Ann’s remarkable success with him, Walcott had said in 2020, “Well, I would have gotten a lot of experience over the years. The most fruitful was last year with Shelly-Ann.”
But, what was once a strong partnership now seems strained. As Sports Max publication termed, this bond as a “frosty relationship.” When you compare Shelly’s demeanor between 2022 and 2023-2024, the difference is staggering. Shelly, these past 18 months, has been quiet, not given many interviews, and hasn’t really displayed the same excitement on the track.
Remember when Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce had to withdraw from the 2024 Olympic semifinals right before her race against American star Sha’Carri Richardson and St. Lucian sprinter Julien Alfred? That was such a tough moment for her fans! Because she had already announced that the Paris Olympics was going to be her last Olympics. So whom she might be turning to after this reported split?
While any official communication from Shelly-Ann has yet to come, the name of Andre Wellington is doing rounds as the person who will be among Fraser-Pryce’s new coaching regiment. Wellington has coached World U20 100m silver medalist Bouwahghie Nkrumie at Kingston College (KC). He was a member of the Racers Track Club between 2011 and 2012. But does that mean Shelly is not done yet?
Previously, she had stated that her family needed her, which led her to take the call to step away. Speaking to Essence magazine, she explained how competing in Paris was about “pushing boundaries” and “showing people that you stop when you decide.” “I want to finish on my own terms,” she had further added. But the Paris Olympics was surely not the way she wanted to wrap it up. So she might be in search of that perfect finish. Notably, Shelly will be 38 during the 2025 track season.
Interestingly, Walcott is also the coach of Elaine Thompson-Herah, and talented hurdlers like Rasheed Broadbell, Megan Tapper, and Rushell Clayton. But, according to a report from Jamaica Observer, there has been an exodus of athletes leaving the coach.
Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce to lead the pack in leaving Walcott?
In November 2023, Walcott’s Elite Performance Track Club received major success as five-time Olympics champion Elaine Thompson-Herah joined, having parted ways with Shanikie Osbourne. That marked the first time when two of the fastest women in history trained together. Walcott was excited to have them onboard together.
“I try to observe my notes and figure out which instructions will be of the biggest benefit but also try not to overdo or reinvent anything because they are not novices and they have done a lot of great things. So, it’s a fine line where I want it to turn to this but I do not want it to turn to that,” Walcott had told Athletics Weekly in May. In an interview with Citius Mag in March, Walcott had also given a sneak peek to how their training looked like.
“It’s interesting that there’s such a focus on their training setup. Each person will train based on their needs, based on the events they are participating in and their current condition. So all members of my group, the training times that they get is just relative to the stuff that they have to do and based on their own needs,” Walcott had added. But Elaine’s association with Walcott did not go well.
Frustrated Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce Finally Breaks Free From Mistreatment to Chase Final Track & Field Dream
She failed to qualify for both the 100m and 200m events at the World Championships last year and had to sit out the 4x100m relay. She even did not take part in the Paris Olympics after withdrawing from the Jamaican trials for an Achilles injury. In fact, her performance has seen a downward spiral since her departure from Stephen Francis’ MVP track club in October 2021. According to reports, now Elaine is once again in talks with the club for a return. Interestingly, Francis had previously shut the door for Elaine.
“The way she left and the comments that she made and the fact that she has yet to accredit any member of the MVP staff who paid her a lot of attention and went through a lot of sacrifice to get her healthy enough to run and to do what she did in 2021,” Francis had said last year. Seems like Elaine has identified the move as a miscalculation that many had pointed out back then. Notably, according to reports Elaine is not the only athlete who is eyeing a comeback to Francis’ camp from Walcott’s
Rasheed Broadbell, the Olympic Games 110m hurdles bronze medal winner and Commonwealth Games champion is expected to rejoin the MVP Track Club, where he got his big break in the sport before leaving in 2021 to join Walcott. Notably, Broadbell remains the only athlete to have won a medal in the entire athlete pool of the Elite Performance Track Club. The coming months might give us a clear picture of where these interesting shuffles are going to settle.
