MONTEGO BAY, St James — Olympic gold and silver medallist Sherone Simpson thinks last year’s success at the Pan American Games in Canada, where she ran her fastest in eight years, has given her the confidence to run even faster this year.

Simpson, who said she only went to the Games in Toronto, Canada, as a backup after her plans to go to Europe did not materialise, won the gold medal in the women’s 100m, running from lane eight and clocking 10.95 seconds, the fastest she had run in eight years.

The former Manchester High and University of Technology student was addressing high school athletes at Tuesday’s launch of the 38th Milo Western Relays in Montego Bay.

After going through a failed drug test in 2013 and enduring knee pains for years, Simpson told the large audience she was the happiest she had ever been in track and field and enjoying training and competition since joining coach Maurice Wilson at Sprint Tech in 2014.

The athlete, who is eyeing the 100m/200m double at the Rio Olympics later this year, said: “Who would have known that coming from a failed test and being out for a year I would be able to run 10.95 seconds?”

She added: “I think it was with God’s help and my determination and focus that got me through… I am back in a happy place, training very well and looking forward to 2016 and I think I still have a lot to give and I can run faster than 10.95 seconds.”

Simpson — who had failed a drug test after an illegal stimulant was found in her system at the Jamaica Aathletics Administrative Association National Trials in 2013 and missed most of the year — said she moved to Florida to train in 2014 but “I missed home and when I moved back, I chose to train with coach Maurice Wilson at Sprint Tech TC based at GC Foster.”

From the start she said both her and the coach knew things would not be easy. “He knew it would have been a task when I started training with him in 2014 and we were targeting the 2016 Olympics; we spoke about it and said we were not rushing anything as the main aim is 2016.”

And with issues with her knees for some nine years now, including two operations, she said: “I did my training but was not able to do a lot of speed work because of the knees, so no block starts and or anything explosive, so I had to be doing lots of 150m and 300m runs to make up.”

She recounted the process that led to her success at the Pan American Games, saying they took it one step at a time with give and take from both herself and coach Wilson making suggestions as to what they should do.

“I can recall going into the National Trials for 2015 and we were really focussing on the 200m, but I told him I wanted to do the double at the trials and he said to me ‘Sherone I don’t think you are ready to run the 100m’ and I smiled and said to him ‘Coach I know I can do it’; he asked me if I was sure I can make the team in the 100 and I said ‘Yes coach’.”

Her preparation for the trials was limited as she was only able to run one 100m race “and it was a very slow time but I believed in myself”. She was fourth in the 100m and second in the 200m at the National Trials and made the team for both events for the World Championships in Beijing, China.

“After trials I was supposed to go to Europe but because (coach Wilson) would not be there we decided to go to Pan Am Games in Canada. Pan Am, that was not part of the plan, we planned to go to trials then go to Europe, get some races in and get ready for the World Championships.

In Canada, the decision was that she would only run the 100m so as not to overwork her going into Beijing where she would be running the double. “We did a little work for the 100m as my knee was still acting up and we wanted to get some races in before we got to Beijing.”

After her success she reflected. “From my failed test in 2013 I learned so much, a lot of positives…this is the happiest I have ever been my whole life, I am enjoying track and field much more and I am enjoying life much more and you must believe in yourself, nothing is impossible, set goals, both long and short-term ones.”

One goal is to qualify for the Jamaican team in both short sprints for the Rio Olympics she told the students. “I have been working hard, I start training at 5:30 am each morning and its two sessions per day,” she said. “It’s not easy to be at GC Foster at 4:30 am each morning and then back at 3:30 pm, it’s a lot but I knew what it would take from me and I was ready for the challenge, but I am happy.”

Wilson’s patience, she said, and the motivation from her training partners have gone a far way in helping her recover from what could have been a career-ending situation for her. “I am thankful to Maurice Wilson, who has been there for me and the other athletes. We have been motivating each other and that’s what I really needed after a rough 2013.”

Simpson, who is working towards her fourth Olympic Games, said she is not close to hanging up her spikes yet, as she told the athletes she set short-term goals for herself, “like trying to do better than I did the previous session, I know once I put in the work it will pay off”.