There aren’t many women who have run below 50 seconds over 400 metres, below 21 seconds over 200, and below 10 seconds over 100. Jamaican sprinter Shericka Jackson has joined rarified air and ace pundit Hubert Lawrence seems to suggest more greatness is in store for the powerful athlete.

Published June 30, 2021

Jackson sprinting with the greats

Hubert Lawrence/Gleaner Writer 

WHEN SHERICKA Jackson crossed the line in second place in the 200 metres on Sunday at the National Senior Championships inside the National Stadium, she completed a rarely accomplished hat-trick.

Her time of 21.82 seconds made her the 10th woman in track and field history to register times under 11 seconds for the 100m, under 22 seconds for the 200m and under 50 seconds for the 400 metres.

Now, Jackson stands shoulder-to-shoulder with greats like Allyson Felix, Marie-Jose Perec and Irina Privalova.

In a joyous Sunday post on Facebook, the 2016 Olympic 400-metre bronze medallist celebrated her achievement.

“Today I ran another massive personal best of 21.82 while placing 2nd in the 200m and created history by being the first Jamaican to run *wind-legal* times of sub 11 secs, sub 22 secs and sub 50 secs in the 100, 200 and 400m, respectively,” Jackson wrote.

Now almost 27, Jackson is the third-fastest Jamaica of all time in the 400m at 49.47 seconds, the time she ran to place third at the 2019 World Championships.

She had shown signs of speed before. In 2018, she sprinted to the silver medal in the 200m at the Commonwealth Games behind Bahamian Shaunae Miller-Uibo and notched a personal best of 22.05 seconds later in that season.

In 2019, with injuries affecting her MVP Track Club teammate Elaine Thompson-Herah, she helped the Jamaican 4x100-metre relay team to win the gold medal at the 2019 World Championships.

This year, she ran 11.02 seconds for the 100m in June. It appeared to outsiders that was speed work for the 400m, where she had won bronze medals at both the 2015 and 2019 World Championships.

It was in fact the start of a change of events for the former Vere Technical High School star

“I was excited when my coach and I decided to focus on the 100/200m and not to contest the 400m,” she said.

“The hard work paid off and I am elated to be on my second Olympic team, this time for the 100 and 200m. I booked my spot by placing 2nd in the 100m with a massive personal best of 10.77 which is the 13th-fastest time in history and the 6th fastest by a Jamaican.

The 10.77-second run was followed by a time of 10.82 seconds in the final and those performances have Jackson looking ahead.

“The work has just begun and I am super excited about the rest of the season,” she anticipated.

Those who arrived ahead of her in sub-11/ sub-22/sub-50 territory are 400-metre world record holder Marita Koch of East Germany, Miller-Uibo, Americans Felix, Gwen Torrence and Valerie Brisco, Perec of France, Privalova and Koch’s old East German teammate Barbel Wockel.

All of this elite group won either Olympic titles or World Championship gold medals or both, with Russia’s Privalova triumphant at the 2000 Olympics in the 400-metre hurdles. 

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