BRUSSELS, Belgium—Jamaican sprint phenomenon Shericka Jackson blazed to glory once again as she finished first in the 200 m race, clocking 21.48 seconds, in the recent Brussels Diamond League. But despite taking home the gold, Jackson’s main goal of breaking Florence Griffith Joyner’s, aka Flo-Jo, world record remained elusive.
At the press conference prior to the start of the Brussels Diamond League, Shericka Jackson had revealed her ambition to break Flo-Jo’s record this time.
“At the World Championships, I was so close. Just a little wind and I would’ve been a world record holder,” she said. “Coach and I have spoken and I think we are going after it this year. I hope to get it tomorrow. If I do, then that would probably ease a little pressure off me going into Eugene.”
“If not, we have another shot in Eugene,” Jackson said. “There is no perfect race, but I just want to run a good race, and once I put everything in place, definitely, because we’re right there. We’re so close, we’re knocking on the door.”
On the day of the competition (Friday, Sep 8), Jackson stepped out onto the track and had her eyes and heart set on breaking the world record. Unfortunately, she was unable to achieve her objective, as she clocked 21.48 seconds and missed the target by 0.14 seconds.
Even so, Jackson still gave an impressive performance for the spectators, as she secured the top spot and the fourth-fastest running time in history. In second place, Strachan of the Bahamas clocked 22.31 seconds, and in third place, Prandini of the United States clocked 22.47 seconds.
Shericka: Very good race
“Running was very good. I am very happy with my race. For me personally, it is just to show up and especially in front of such an amazing crowd, you just have to put in your best and that’s what I did today,” Jackson said after the race.
35 years have passed since Flo-Jo, the fastest woman in the world, set the world record for the 200-meter race at the 1988 Summer Olympics in Seoul with a time of 21.34 seconds.
Since then, the world’s top female sprinters have attempted to break the record but have not been able to do so. In the past two years, however, Shericka Jackson has come close to surpassing the legendary record. She achieved the second-fastest time in history, clocking 21.41 seconds, to win her second consecutive World title in Budapest last month. This record was just a scant 0.09 off Flo-Jo’s record of 21.34 seconds.
The photo above is from a YouTube screen grab