Megan Tapper was her usual, vibrant bubbly self after winning the women’s 100m hurdles at the Velocity Fest Meet in Kingston, Jamaica, last weekend.

The Olympic bronze medallist was particularly delighted with the time she ran in her season opener at the meet when she ran a meet record 12.80s.

“I am really grateful that I am healthy and I am able to run. This race was just to see where I am, to come out here and do my best and execute my best race possible.

“I am just relieved that I could get under 13 seconds for my first race. This is my first time ever, so I am really excited about that,” she expressed.

Focus was the key for Tapper in her bright start to the season.

“I stayed more focused on me. For your first race you can be all over the place and I am really grateful that I was able to, more than before, really focus on me, and try to keep my technique to the end,” she said.

Tapper trains both locally and overseas and says that both of her coaches, Philipp Unfriend and her husband Matheu, know exactly how to get the best out of her.

“My coaches know exactly what Megan needs to be better and the focus has always been to, every singe day, be better than the day before so that’s basically it.”

“I am happy that I am able to train all across the world because a lot of people don’t get the opportunity to do that, although it’s hard leaving my husband and my family here in Jamaica all the time. But at the end of the day, I am just happy that I am able to do it and the results are coming,” she said.

Tapper became the first Jamaican female to win a medal in the sprint hurdles at the Olympic Games when she did so last year, and she is hoping to continue in the same vein this season.

“Coming off of a big year last year and just trying to keep the momentum going, working hard at it, and staying focus on the goals.”

Tapper will next take to the track at the Seiko Grand Prix in Tokyo in May.

— Dwayne Richards