MONTEGO BAY, St James — Commending the loyalty of many Jamaican athletes, retired track icon Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce on Wednesday told members of the diaspora that national pride is not enough and thanked them for supporting the country’s sportsmen and women, who are saddled with huge bills juxtaposed to limited chances to earn. At the same time, she urged the Government to do more.

“We do have a lot of talented athletes in Jamaica and I can tell you a lot of our athletes, they represent the black, green and gold because they’re loyal to the flag; wi very loyal!” she said during a panel discussion held as part of the 11th Biennial Jamaica Diaspora Conference at the Montego Bay Convention Centre in St James.

“There is nothing that fills us with more pride [than] when we represent our country. But that cannot be enough because you have athletes, who are spending US$20,000 just on health issues, going to the doctor, flying out to go see an orthopaedic surgeon, who they think is really good. There [are] a lot of things that happen with the athletes,” the Olympian highlighted.