KAREN Chisholm, the mother of national junior 100m record holder Alana Reid, has vowed that her daughter will continue her education despite her announcement that she will be joining the professional ranks.

Reid, 18, recently signed with American-based company Auctus Global Sports Management, which is co-founded by former national senior representatives Sekou Clarke and Dwight “Bigga” Thomas and operates out of Florida.

Chisholm told the Jamaica Observer that despite Reid’s exploits on the track, her education is also very important going forward and she will be strongly supporting her in both endeavours.

“It is clear that she wants to use her talent to lead but there is no compromise where education is concerned,” said Chisholm. “We have a consensus that school will still be in the mix and she just wants to carry two portfolios, and I am supporting her in that,” she added.

Reid, who has enjoyed top form all season, clocked a staggering 10.92 seconds to win the Class One girls’ 100m final at the Inter-secondary Schools Sports Association/GraceKennedy Boys’ and Girls’ Athletics Championships in March and set the national Under-20 record. In the process the then Hydel student smashed Veronica Campbell Brown’s record.

Reid also became the fifth-fastest junior of all time and the 21st Jamaican woman to run a sub-11 clocking. Days later she became the 2023 Carifta Games gold medallist in the event.

Chisholm shared that Reid is not being carried away by her recent rise to stardom because she instilled in her from a tender age that she should remain humble no matter the circumstances.

“The first ground rule that I have ever instilled is that she must be a humble individual, and that is what she is displaying at this time,” she said.

“The playing field where stardom is concerned is where I am trying now to mould her not to read and have a reaction to everything that she sees and hears. Recent events have shown where she gets twisted and wants to have second thoughts and wants to second guess certain things – but once you keep your goals in clear view then you focus on just that,” Chisholm explained.

Reid, who is still being guided by her high school coach, Corey Bennett, at Hydel is currently preparing for the National Championships which will be held at the National Stadium July 6-9. The championships will be used to select Jamaica’s team for this year’s World Championships, which will be held in Budapest, Hungary, August 19-27.

Reid’s time of 10.92 seconds has ranked her as the second-fastest Jamaican in the world this year behind Shericka Jackson, who has run 10.78.

Chisholm underscored that Reid has nothing to fear from her opponents at the National Trials, which can be an intimidating atmosphere for young athletes.

“For me, win, lose or draw I want her to bank on the experience of it,” she said. “Entering the professional world and when you look at what is upcoming, which is the World Championships and Olympics next year, gaining exposure at a young age of 18, I don’t see nothing wrong with that,” Chisholm said.

“There is absolutely no pressure on her at the moment because it [National Championships] is something that she was not interested in doing, but confidence goes a long way and it was instrumental that [she] tested the playing field,” she said.