Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce revealed the reason for her withdrawal from the Paris Olympics: "I felt humiliated" and "I think I had a panic attack."

Shelly Ann Fraser-Pryce was one of the key figures in athletics at the 2024 Paris Olympic Games . But not for winning a medal, breaking a world record, or delivering the extraordinary performance she usually delivers every time she takes to the track. The Jamaican sprinter, who arrived in the French capital as a podium contender and planned to close out her career after that event, surprised everyone when she withdrew from the 100m semifinals minutes before the competition and without much explanation. The 70 people present at the Stade de France learned she wouldn't be running when they read the announcement on the stadium's screens. And speculation about what had happened began. Some said she had arrived late and hadn't been allowed in; others, that she had injured herself during the warm-up. She left silently. And now, almost a year after that mysterious withdrawal, she told the truth.

As she revealed in a note with Marie Claire magazine, what led her to make the decision not to appear in the semifinals was a series of unfortunate events : a confusion over which access was authorized for her in the training stadium attached to the main stage meant that she started her usual preparation routine an hour late and that delay caused her general discomfort, both physical and mental. " I probably had a panic attack ," she stated.

"When I got to the stadium gate, they told me it was closed. I told them, 'The track is right there, and I used this gate yesterday.' But they told me they had decided not to use it that day," said the runner-up in her heat the day before, with the second-best time of the entire classification.

Carrying a large bag full of clothes over her shoulder, the Jamaican—who was seeking her ninth Olympic medal, her fourth after the 100 meters at Beijing 2008 and London 2012 , and the 4x100 at Tokyo 2020 —didn't want to waste energy walking a long distance to another gate. So she waited for the volunteers controlling the entrance to make a few calls to see if they would let her in.

"It's not like there were a hundred people trying to get through the door," he explained. "And walking to another entrance meant passing by pedestrians and other attendees walking."

While she waited for news, a bus arrived with athletes from the Olympic Village and was allowed inside. She, who had arrived in a private car, was still waiting. It wasn't long before news of her inconvenience reached the press, and a video of the Jamaican woman having a heated argument with an Olympic employee went viral on social media. According to Fraser-Pryce, the whole thing made her feel "humiliated."

The sprinter, who also holds ten world titles, ended up giving in and entering the training stadium through another entrance. But the delay forced her to shorten her pre-competition routine, which usually consists of three hours of listening to gospel music, warming up, lowering her heart rate, and focusing. An hour less wasn't the same.

Fraser-Pryce said that in the final laps on the track, she felt her body "shut down," that she began to experience painful muscle cramps in her legs and "a great feeling in my gut," and that her mind began to race.

"I probably had a panic attack," she confessed. "I felt like I could see everything in front of me, and it was ripped out of my hands. I'm a warrior, a fighter. I love rising to the occasion. I wanted to do it for my country, but I had to ask myself, what was best for me?"

After informing the organizers of his withdrawal, he left the stadium in silence. It wasn't until he returned to the apartment where he was staying with his family and his seven-year-old son, Zyon , asked him why he hadn't run that he broke down.

"Before the semifinal in Paris, I felt good. I was ready to give it my all on the track, without fear," she said. "Last year was very tough for me mentally and physically. I've always done it for the flag and shown up to do it for my country. But what happened at the Games was a decision made with myself in mind."

The Jamaican revealed that in the months following the Olympics, she stayed away from the track. She took refuge in her home in Canarsie, Brooklyn, where she spent time with her loved ones and lived a normal life. And that allowed her to heal.

"One night before I went to bed, Jason (her husband) said to me , 'I know you weren't sure about 2025, but if it's something you want to do, I'm here for you. ' I was so devastated, but his support gave me a leg up," she recalled.

So, she decided to return and make the 2025 season her final performance. In April, she competed in the Speed Festival at the National Stadium in Kingston. In May, she ran the 100 meters at the Doha Diamond League , her first official competition after Paris, where she finished fourth with 11.05. And on June 27, she clocked 10.91 in the final of the Jamaican National Championships , securing bronze and achieving the minimum time for the World Championships in Tokyo , to be held in September.

There, in the same stadium where he won his last Olympic gold medal four years ago, he will run his last race, at the age of 38.

"I love where I'm at in this journey. I'm not saying it's easy, because it isn't. There will be challenges. But when I look in the mirror, I see a strong, fearless woman who is about to do the impossible. I'm joining the conversation about what it means to be a female sprinter at my age," she said.

"I'm here to inspire someone who might not find success until they're in their thirties. Now they have a role model, because I did it first," concluded Fraser-Pryce, who, having put the ordeal of Paris 2024 behind her, is preparing to bring her extraordinary career to a fitting end.