REIGNING World Under-20 100m champion Tina Clayton said she was satisfied with her efforts after making her professional debut in the women’s 400m at the Central Hurdles, Relays, Jumps & Throws meet at the G C Foster College of Physical Education and Sport in St Catherine on Saturday.

Clayton, who made the switch from Edwin Allen High School to the Stephen Francis-led MVP Track and Field Club at the end of last season, clocked a pedestrian 1:06.26 minutes to finish eighth overall in the 400m of the women’s timed final event.

Odeshia Nanton from G C Foster was the overall winner of the event with a time of 56.47, Christine Cheka was second in 57.60, while third went to Keiffer Bailey in 58.06.

Tina’s twin sister Tia, who is also coached by Francis at the MVP track club, was ninth overall in the event in a time of 1:13.57.

Tina said running the 400m at this stage of the season is not what she is accustomed to, but she was very happy she was able to finish the race healthy.

“It was not bad because to open up with the 400m is not what I had expected but I finished the race — and that was the most important thing for me,” said Tina.

“I think that a lot of people have high expectations [of me] but I think that people don’t understand that transition takes time, and so I am just working hard and staying focused this season because the aim is to run a personal best time this year,” she added.

Tina, who has a personal best of 10.95 in the 100m and 23.30 in the 200m, was a member of Jamaica’s 4×100m relay team that won the gold medal in that event at the World Under-20 Championships in Cali, Colombia, with a world record 42.56 seconds last August. The other members of that team are sibling Tia, Kerrica Hill and Serena Cole.

Tina shared that she is adjusting to life at the professional level as she has been receiving a lot of support from the club, family and friends.

“I think that I am adjusting well because I have been doing my little things to make me comfortable there,” she said. “The things that I am doing now are not anything that I am used to because most of the things that I am doing now are things that I was doing at my past school but it is just a little more complicated, but it is the same things,” Tina said.

However the stoutly built sprinter, who won the gold medal in the 100m at the Issa/GraceKennedy Boys’ and Girls’ Athletics Championships last year for Edwin Allen, admits training at the MVP track club is much tougher compared to high school.

“The training is much harder and it is a lot more professional but I am adjusting to it and so I am getting along quite fine. I am dealing with it very good — both mentally and physically,” Tina said.

“I have some beautiful people that surround me and people that are pushing me to the best of my abilities, and that is what I like,” she went on.

Meanwhile, Dennick Luke from G C Foster College was the overall winner of the men’s 400m event after clocking 47.58 to win his heat. Ryan Webber, running unattached, was second in 49.62 while third went to Kemaro Neil, also from G C Foster College, in 49.84.

Annecia Richards from G C Foster College captured the women’s 200m in 24.84 ahead of MVP’s pair Akrisa Eristee (24.86) and Kaliese Carter (25.49).

Edwin Allen’s Bryan Levell won the men’s 200m event comfortably in 20.76 ahead of GC Foster College’s pair of Andrae Dacres (21.54) and Jaheim Diosi (21.84).

Edwin Allen’s Delano Kennedy was very impressive in winning the boys’ Class One 400m in 47.93, Jasauna Dennis from St Elizabeth Technical was second in 48.48 while third went to Davion Whyte from Holmwood in 49.21.

St Catherine’s Jamara Patterson won the girls’ 400m event in 55.71 ahead of Edwin Allen’s pair of Kacian Powell (55.87) and Natasha Fox (56.08).

— Robert Bailey