LIMA, Peru (AP) - Jamaica’s Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce broke the 40-year-old Pan American Games 200-meter record Friday.
The two-time Olympic 100 champion clocked 22.43 seconds in the Peruvian capital of Lima. The tournament’s previous record of 22.45 was set by American Evelyn Ashford in Puerto Rico’s capital in 1979. Fraser-Pryce beat Brazil’s Vitoria Cristina Rose, who won silver, and the Bahamian, Tynia Gaither, who took bronze.
“It’s a long time since I’ve broken a record so I feel great about that,” the 32-year-old said.
Fraser-Pryce said that it although it took a while to warm up in Lima’s damp, chilly weather, she was focused on her strategy.
“My coach told me to run the first half very hard and I decided to go for it from the gun,” she said. “We were all cold out there but I wasn’t too worried about the cold, I was just worried about everyone behind me.”
She’s still working on getting “a perfect finish,” and her goal now is to break Elaine’s Thompson’s Jamaican record and win the gold at the world championships.
With her hair dyed in bright green, she celebrated holding up a Jamaican flag after she crossed the finish line at Lima’s Atletico stadium.
“I always love to color my hair and I decided: ’OK Peru, you definitely need to see some color’” she said.
“It’s always an honor to represent Jamaica and have some fun. That’s what I wanted to do today.”
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