KINGSTON, Jamaica (CMC) — Jamaican sprinter Shericka Jackson said the postponement of the Tokyo Olympics to this year was also a blessing for her in many ways.
Jackson, 27, was reflecting on a notable season on the international circuit, where her switch from the women’s 400 metres to the shorter distances of 100m and 200m brought her resounding success.
She completed Jamaica’s Olympic medal sweep by taking bronze in the women’s 100m behind compatriots Elaine Thompson-Herah and Shelley-Ann Fraser-Pryce.
Jackson also became the first Jamaican woman to run under 11 seconds for 100m, under 22 seconds for 200m and under 50 seconds for 400m.
She is only the 10th athlete ever to achieve all three landmark times in the women’s sprints, and only the third since 2000, following American Allyson Felix and Shaunae Miller-Uibo of The Bahamas.
“After the 2019 season, in the November, I did an X-ray and found I was running on two stress fractures,” she said in an interview appearing on the website of World Athletics, the sport’s world governing body. “For me to be here in 2021 is such a good feeling.
“In 2020, I struggled so much. I kept going because I never wanted to take one full year off and not do any activity. It was mentioned about doing surgery, but I never wanted to do that. I had a teammate who did that, and it was good for him, but by observing and listening to him, I just never wanted to be in that position.”
