On Aug. 3, track and field fans around the world were looking forward to watching world champion sprinter Sha’Carri Richardson and two-time Olympic 100 champion Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce of Jamaica compete in the women’s 100-meter competition at the 2024 Paris Olympics. However, moments before the semifinal, Fraser-Pryce abruptly withdrew from the race.
After Fraser-Pryce pulled out, a video appearing to show Fraser-Pryce and Richardson being denied entry into a gate at the Olympics warmup track went viral online.
The viral video led some people on social media to claim Fraser-Pryce withdrew because of a last-minute rule change that caused the Jamaican sprinter to miss warmups before the race.
“She said they changed the rule yesterday. So you’re asking all the athletes who, for whatever reason, don’t stay in the [Olympic] village, they can’t come through the gate? We came through this gate yesterday and went through security and was OK,” Fraser-Pryce can be heard saying in the video.
THE QUESTION
Did Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce withdraw from the women’s 100-meter semifinal because a rule change caused her to miss warmups?
THE SOURCES
- Paris 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games Organizing Committee
- Jamaica Olympic Association Chef de Mission Ian Kelly
- Jamaica Athletics Administrative Association Team Manager Ludlow Watts
- Articles published by BBC, Reuters and the Jamaica Observer
THE ANSWER
No, Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce didn’t withdraw from the women’s 100-meter semifinal because a rule change caused her to miss warmups. The Jamaican Olympic Association says she withdrew due to injury.
WHAT WE FOUND
Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce didn’t withdraw from the women’s 100-meter semifinal on Aug. 3 because a last-minute rule change caused her to miss warmups, like social media posts suggest. Instead, she withdrew from the race due to injury, according to Jamaican Olympic officials.
In a statement to VERIFY, the Paris 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games Organizing Committee confirmed that “some athletes tried to enter the warm-up track at Stade de France on 03 August through the wrong gate.”
“They were redirected to the correct entrance and were able to access the venue,” a Paris 2024 spokesperson told VERIFY.
Jamaica Olympic Association chef de mission (delegation leader) Ian Kelly and Jamaica’s team manager Ludlow Watts both told news outlets that Fraser-Pryce was allowed to enter the warmup track through another gate but said her absence from the 100-meter semifinal was due to injury.
“There is no truth that she was not allowed to enter the stadium. Unfortunately, she was not able to compete due to an injury sustained during her final warmup,” Kelly said.
The Jamaican Gleaner newspaper said Fraser-Pryce had been nursing a knee injury throughout the 2024 season that may have been aggravated during warmups.
Fraser-Pryce, who won gold medals in 2008 and 2012, has said this will be her fifth and final Olympics. On Aug. 4, she thanked her supporters in an Instagram post but did not provide specifics about her injury.
“It is difficult for me to find the words to describe the depth of my disappointment. I know that my supporters share and shoulder this disappointment with me. I am truly blessed to have had the steadfast support of my fans since my Olympic debut in 2008,” Fraser-Pryce wrote.
Fraser-Pryce has a total of eight Olympic medals, including gold in the 4x100 at the Tokyo Games in 2021. She also has 16 medals at world championships, including five titles in the 100, the most recent of which came in 2022.
VERIFY reached out to Fraser-Pryce for comment but did not hear back by the time of publication.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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