PARIS, France — Having won two bronze medals at the World Championships in the past, 400m hurdler Rushell Clayton is feeling confident as she seeks to land her first Olympic Games medal in Paris. Clayton, 31, has been having an outstanding season this year, winning the national title last month at the National Stadium.

She won bronze in the event at the 2019 World Championships in Doha, Qatar, and in Budapest, Hungary, last year, where she clocked a then-personal best (PB) time of 52.81 seconds.

Clayton, who is coached by Reynaldo Walcott at the Elite Performance Track Club, enters the Olympic Games high on confidence. She is the third fastest woman in the world this year with a time of 52.51 seconds. Only world record holder Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone (50.65s) of the USA, and Femke Bol of the Netherlands (50.95s) have run faster than Clayton in the event this year.

Competing at her first Olympic Games, Clayton told the Jamaica Observer that the event will be challenging, but she is prepared to go all out for a podium finish.

“Whenever I step on the line, it is all about executing a good race, and I think I have been doing well all season, so it is just to take that into the Games with me,” she said. “Definitely, it is tough whenever I step on the line, we have a lot of girls running real fast, so if you don’t show up with your A-game, then you are just not going to make it to the next round.

“I am pretty confident that I can execute a good race, and my aim is to get to the podium. I think that is everybody’s aim when they come to a championships — to get on the podium, and what else can that be but to win a medal.”

Clayton says she feels upbeat about representing the country at her first Olympic Games in Paris. She says she has prepared herself mentally and physically for the event.

“I am really excited, and I am happy to be here at my first Olympic Games,” she said. “The preparations have been going really well, and I am excited just to start. I just can’t wait to see what the stadium looks like and to compete. I have never felt any pressure to win a medal or to make the final or anything. I think that I am in a good space, so glory be to God.”

Former national champion Janieve Russell and Shiann Salmon will be Jamaica’s other representatives in the women’s 400m hurdles.