KINGSTON, Jamaica — MVP Track Club Head Coach Stephen Francis says he might implement a no social media policy for his athletes during track season moving forward.

Speaking with Observer Online in Paris on the final day of the Olympic Games on Saturday, Francis said, “I believe I’m going to try to implement a policy for the athletes to delete social media before they start competing. It’s too much of a distraction, and they spend too much time on their phones.”

Francis made the comment while discussing future plans for young athlete Tia Clayton, who was the only Jamaican to reach the women’s 100m Olympic final.

Clayton placed seventh with a time of 11.04 seconds while running on a rain-drenched track at Stade de France in her Olympic debut. The race was won by St Lucia’s Julien Alfred in a personal best 10.72 seconds.

According to Francis, Clayton, who ran an impressive 10.89 seconds in the semi-finals, may have frozen when she lined up against the world’s top athletes.

“Tia is in the process of learning how to be a professional. I believe she froze in the final. There were a lot of factors she wasn’t accustomed to, primarily the weather, which had turned cold. I also think the reality of being in contention, combined with possibly something she saw on her phone, might have caused her to freeze,” Coach Francis explained.

While Francis had hoped for different results, he acknowledged that Clayton is young and still has a lot to learn as a professional athlete, including how to handle social media.

However, he expressed pride in her performance, despite knowing she could go faster.

“It’s a big step to run as well as she did at an event of this calibre. It’s one thing to run against people who are not the best, but it’s another thing entirely when you stand up against the best in the world. That’s a little bit harder to do well,” he said.

Francis added that Clayton will compete in three more events this season in an effort to qualify for the Diamond League final in Belgium.