IN THE eyes of Titans track club head coach, Michael Frater, MVP track club hurdles coach, Brigette Foster Hylton, and Sprintec head coach, Maurice Wilson, world 200-metre champion Shericka Jackson’s first World Athletics Athlete of the Year nomination is the culmination of a season in which, she finally arrived as an elite sprinter.

Jackson was named among a shortlist of 10 athletes, including five-time world 100-metre World champion, Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce, on Wednesday after a campaign in which she produced landmark performances in her second season doing the sprint double.

Second-fastest time in history

Jackson captured her maiden world title in July, clocking 21.45 seconds, the second-fastest time in history. She also landed her first-ever Diamond League title in the 200m. While her debut season last year gave a glimpse into her capabilities, Frater said that 2022 was the year she truly arrived.

“She is getting better and better each year. She is on top of her game now. She has solidified herself as one of the major threats in the 100m and 200m. She pronounced herself last year, but this year she is a staple now,” Frater told The Gleaner.

Jackson’s maiden world individual title came on the back of her exit from the 200m at the Olympic games, a disappointment that she said fueled her 2022 season.

Foster-Hylton believes that her nomination will only prove to push her to an even better season next year with her place among the best already validated,

“This is the tip of the iceberg, and there is a lot more to come from here. This will give her a lot more confidence going back into her preparation knowing that she is rubbing shoulders with the best of the best in the world,” Foster-Hylton said.

With major championship medals in the 100m, 200m and 400m, Wilson who was Jamaica’s technical leader at the World Championships said that Jackson’s nomination solidifies the belief in her talent with her place among the greatest only a matter of time.

“I think over time Shericka may become one of the more consistent and versatile sprinters of all time. I think what she did this year embodies what she and her management team would have thought that she had in her. And I think it is just a matter of time before she stands above everyone else in the sport,” Wilson said. “She would have justified the sort of respect and belief that they would have had in her talent. I believe that moving forward she is going to do better things.”