The surprise winner of the Olympic 100-metre gold medal in 2008, Shelly-Ann backed that up in Berlin in 2009. Bursting rapidly from the blocks, she went even faster than she did in Beijing and won in 10.73 seconds, a new Jamaican record.

Slowed by a calf strain in 2011, she nevertheless was one of the favourites for the world title.

Before that bother, she had shown great speed in a May race over 200 metres where she beat two-time Olympic champion Veronica Campbell-Brown.

This fast-starting former high school winner for Wolmer’s Girls has broken 11 seconds 13 times. Her development accelerated when she enrolled as a student at the University of Technology and became a member of the MVP Track Club.