'Still work to do'

• Fraser-Pryce sets sights on 200m gold medal
• Francis believes athlete has 'excellent chance'

André Lowe, Senior Staff Reporter

LONDON, England:

With the 100m title firmly tucked away, coach Stephen Francis is expecting his prized athlete Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce to make an impression in the 200m at the Olympic Games, as she attempts the sprint double for the first time in her career.

The 25-year-old Fraser-Pryce certainly seems to agree, as she offered: "I am here to complete a mission and there is still work to do, so let us see what happens in the 200m."

Fraser-Pryce became the first Caribbean woman to win back-to-back 100m Olympic titles with a time of 10.75.

It is the fastest legal time registered in an Olympic women's 100m final.

Achievements

The late American, Florence Griffith-Joyner, had won the 100 gold at the Seoul Olympics in 1988 with a wind-aided 10.54.

Her compatriot, Marion Jones, had won the Olympic Games 100m final in Sydney, Australia in 2000, but that time and her achievements have all been wiped from the records for drug use.

World champion Carmelita Jeter was second in Saturday's final in 10.78, with Fraser-Pryce's compatriot, Veronica Campbell-Brown, winning her second Olympic 100m bronze medal with a 10.81 clocking.

Fraser-Pryce is the third fastest woman in the 200m this year, with a 22.10 personal best effort, which was done at the JAAA/Supreme Ventures Limited National Senior Championships in July, as she got the better of defending Olympic champion Campbell-Brown.

However, Francis is convinced that the diminutive sprinter has all the ability to lower that personal best and surprise many here in London.

"I don't know how fast she can go, but I suspect that she can go a lot faster than 22.10 and I think she will be able to run the 200m as fast as a typical 10.70 seconds 100m woman, which is 21-mid or 21-high; so we will see," said Francis.

The much respected coach is still missing an Olympic 200m champion from his CV, but is quietly confident that Fraser-Pryce, who only sparingly runs the event - mainly to help with her 100m speed endurance - stands a strong chance of mining gold in the half-lap event.

Like she did in Beijing four years ago, Francis believes that the fact the Fraser-Pryce will be competing with little expectations will work in her favour.

"I think she has an excellent chance, she will not make those technical errors she made in the 100m because there won't be any pressure on her and she has nothing to lose, so I think she has a very good chance," Francis said.

"This is new territory that she will be going in and hopefully she will be able to recover in time from the 100m and be able to run a good race," Francis added.