‘I can’t say I’m surprised’

WHILE A splendid junior, Tia Clayton has generally found herself behind her twin sister, Tina Clayton, who, with 10.95 seconds at the World Under-20 Championships in 2022, was the second fastest age-group sprinter in Jamaica’s history. On Friday night, Tia truly stepped into her own lane, securing a spot for the upcoming Paris Olympic Games in spectacular fashion.

Coming into the Jamaica Athletics Administrative Association (JAAA)/PUMA National Junior and Senior Championships with a personal best of 11.12 seconds, Clayton had a massive breakthrough, clocking a new life-time best of 10.86 in the women’s 100m semi-finals.

She stamped her class yet again in the final, proving her performance was not a fluke, when she took second in 10.90 behind defending champion Shericka Jackson, 10.84, and just ahead of Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce, 10.

94. Clayton said she was always confident she would be able to make the team, but admitted she was surprised with how fast she had run in the semi-finals. “I can’t say I’m surprised that I’m here because I’ve been working hard towards it, but it was just the time in the semi-finals that shook me,” she said.

“I wasn’t nervous for the final. Maybe I was nervous for the semis, but I wasn’t nervous for the final because I was accustomed to it and I knew what I was going to do in the final because of the semi-finals.” Motivated by misfortunes She said she was particularly motivated for this year’s championships after her misfortu.