Retired tennis legend Serena Williams crowned Jamaican sprint icon Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce at the ATHLOS competition held Friday at Icahn Stadium in New York, marking a historic meeting of two of the greatest female athletes of all time.
Williams presented Fraser-Pryce with a Tiffany crown in recognition of her “lifetime of speed and excellence” and her enduring “legacy.” The ceremony, a centerpiece of the ATHLOS event, symbolized the passing of the torch between two women who have defined excellence in their respective sports.
A legend. A legacy. A queen.@realshellyannfp, honored by ATHLOS for moving the sport and inspiring generations to come — crowned by @serenawilliams herself. GOAT to GOAT 👑 pic.twitter.com/BQOTMTGTDG
— ATHLOS (@athlos) October 10, 2025
The crowning moment was revealed earlier in the week by Alexis Ohanian — Williams’ husband and founder of ATHLOS — during an interview on CBS Mornings, where he appeared alongside Fraser-Pryce.
“This is the legend Shelly-Ann Fraser Pryce… Even as an outsider to the sport, you know this name, you know this icon,” Ohanian said. “Something that was so important for us is not just to have a special Tiffany crowning moment for Shelly-Ann Fraser Pryce at our event but also another GOAT (greatest of all times), Serena Williams, she is going to be the one doing the crowning.”
He continued, “It aligns with what we are trying to build here, the future of track and field really like a Formula One type model where this league is going, and this is a great moment to pause and reflect on greatness, celebrate it.”
Fraser-Pryce, who recently announced her retirement from track and field, used the moment to reflect on her career and the next chapter ahead.
“I have given 18 wonderful years to track and I think it is time for me to do more off the track,” she said. “I have done so much for the sport, I think as a country, for Jamaica, for track and field, for women sprinting, I really want to continue to elevate the sport using my voice in another lane.”
The crowning served as a fitting finale for Fraser-Pryce’s illustrious career. Since bursting onto the global scene at the 2008 Beijing Olympics — where she became the first Caribbean woman to win gold in the 100m — she has amassed eight Olympic medals and an astounding 17 World Championship medals.
Her final appearance at the World Athletics Championships in Tokyo, the same city where her career first took flight, brought her journey full circle. There, she earned a silver medal in the women’s 4x100m relay before officially hanging up her spikes.
