Fraser-Pryce is second quickest ever

SHELLY-ANN FRASER-PRYCE sent a booming warning from Jamaica to London yesterday with an astonishing 100m performance that lifted her to second in the alltime world rankings.

The Jamaican, a two-time Olympic gold medallist at the distance and the world champion, clocked 10.63sec at a low-key meet in Kingston. Only Florence Griffith-Joyner ever ran faster, with her contentious world record of 10.49sec standing since 1988 and considered untouchable.

Fraser-Pryce’s time will draw attention around the world with the Olympic Games little over a month away, not least from Dina Asher-Smith, who beat her comfortably in Gateshead last month in a field that included Sha’Carri Richardson, reaffirming the threat she will pose in Tokyo. However, the run by Fraser-Pryce, 34, will quite possibly make her the favourite at the Games.

Within athletics there are already murmurings that improvements in spike technology have reached the sprint distances, though it is not yet clear what footwear the Nike-sponsored athlete was wearing.

Fraser-Pryce said: ‘I wasn’t coming out here to run that fast. There was no pressure — I just wanted to get one more race in before the national trials. Thank God that I finished healthy.’