Place of residence: Kingston, Jamaica
Coach: Stephen Francis
School: Wolmer's High School for Girls
The young Shelly-Ann was raised by her mother Maxine in difficult conditions, in a one-room tenement, sleeping four to a bed with her mum and two brothers (Omar and Andrew). "Waterhouse was one of the poorest communities in Jamaica," she explained. "Really a violent place, Overpopulated, children having children, a lot of crime."
In 2008 Fraser, a relatively unknown sprinter before the season, impressively graced the international settings with some sizzling runs at the Jamaican Championships in June and then stunned the entire Bird’s Nest in Beijing at the Olympic Games when she led a Jamaican historic medal sweep in the women’s 100m.
In 2009 she won two gold medals (100m and 4x100m) at the World Championships in Berlin. With her 100m winning time of 10.73 seconds she is the fourth fastest woman of all-time.
"My mother is probably one of the biggest reasons why I'm running,” said Fraser.
In 2010 she was named as the first UNICEF national Goodwill Ambassador for Jamaica. ”Thanks to UNICEF Jamaica for appointing me Goodwill Ambassador. I know I will carry out the task of making Jamaicans aware that children are our future.”
Her plan is to set up a foundation to aid under-privileged kids; to build a community centre in Waterhouse; to get Jamaicans to toss away guns and ensure the island becomes a woman's as well as a man's world; to become a child psychologist to help develop "more people in the world with better values and better morals".