As athletes, our job is to train and compete.
— Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce
We are the ones out there competing, and yet we read articles and listen to people making accusations about Jamaica, and there's nobody there to take a microphone, be a big person and say, 'What you're saying is wrong, and it's a lie.'
Because I knew how hard I worked, I knew the pain, I knew the sacrifice, I knew the tears, I knew everything. Despite everything, I stuck to it. I toughed it out, and I kept my head in the game, even when the odds were against me.
I like colours. I like to be bright and bold.
My mum wouldn't let me go outside. Coming back from school, the gang men sometimes would say things, but I would walk by, never answer, and my mum would go tell them leave me alone.
My coach and I will have these arguments where I am in pain or something is wrong, and I won't tell him because I feel like I need to train. We have a blow-up of arguments, and he says, 'Shelly, you need to tell me when these things are happening.'
There are still many things to work on - the start, the transition, the finish. I am not just going to sit around and wait.
I enjoy running in Doha. The stadium is close and intimate, which makes you feel connected with the fans.
I grew up in poverty and my mother had to sacrifice a lot for us to eat and get an education - just imagine in a house where we were more than six children! But hard work and dedication is what it took for me to be here today.
Being in Jamaica, I feel comfortable there.
I live my life very clean and transparent - so I have nothing to hide.
No matter what comes, I will always work hard and do my best.
I just trust in God, work hard, and focus on executing.
A master's is a lot more work than my first degree, but I'm an athlete who knows what she wants. I made up my mind, and I'm determined that this is what I'm going to do.
My ambition is to sit behind a desk and work.
It is so important that our federation stands by our athletes.
As athletes, we sit and think, when international media or whoever make judgments or statements about Jamaica, 'Why aren't members of our federation coming out and speaking up for us?'
It's not about where you're from: it's about how to deliver.
Sometimes, we didn't have enough to eat. I'd go to school with no lunch money, and my school would have to provide it.
It's Jamaican women and children who are my inspiration.
I am one of those athletes who is very hard on myself.
There will always be a lot of pressure to cope with.
Everybody talks about Bolt. Now they can talk about the ladies who are running some really wonderful times.
No matter where you come from, we all share the same struggles as human beings, and my beginning is no different.
I don't think I could survive in cold places.
I'm a professional athlete - one who's supposed to set examples - so whatever it is I put in my body, it's up to me to take responsibility for it, and I have done that.
My message always is: No matter where you are from, no matter what past you have, it is all about your future and your goals.
I never - in my dreams, doing track in high school, I didn't imagine it would turn out like this.
I definitely believe our coaches are now leading more and learning more. They are hungry in terms of getting the athletes to improve. I believe it's now more mental than anything else, and I'd like to assist in that area.
I was just a normal athlete. My mother tried to spark something in me. She was an athlete in high school before she got pregnant with my older brother. She was 16, and that was it for her when it came to track and her education.
I wanted green in my hair, so I did green. And I got my sunflowers to match. I've never done it before. Just said, 'OK, I'm doing my hair green.'
It means a lot to defend my title.
I let my times speak for myself.
Just do your schoolwork, focus on a sport if you're good at it, do what I did.
It's hard to judge how you are feeling physically.
I don't know much about the history of track and field, but I know Gail Devers.
The 200 m. is the event I want to get better at.
As aspiring athletes, you should never give up on your dreams. Just believe in yourself, and everything will be possible.
What has happened is just cases of athletes neglecting to correctly check the supplement they've had. It's not like they are deliberately or intentionally cheating.
If anyone wants to ask a question or to suggest something, I'm always open.
The road to success has to have obstacles because, at the end of the day, when success comes, it will be that much better.
I'm getting tired of 10.7s. I just want to put a good race together, and hopefully in the next race, I get the time I'm working for. I definitely think a 10.6 is there. Hopefully I will get it together.
When they announce who I am and what I've achieved, I still pinch myself to make sure I'm not dreaming.
We need our children in Jamaica - especially those suffering with dyslexia, autism, cerebral palsy - to get more attention.
I remember running at school sports day, and I would win everything, but I wasn't a super athlete or a superstar at high school.
