Having watched her twin sister Tia blaze the track last season with a personal best time in the women’s 100m event, Tina Clayton has admitted that she is even more motivated this season and is committed to working much harder on improving her craft in the sport.

Tia had an outstanding season last year when she clocked a personal best time of 10.88 seconds in the 100m semi-final at the National Championships at the National Stadium. She went on to make the final of the 100m at the Olympic Games in Paris, where she finished seventh. Tina, the former world Under-20 100m champion had somewhat of a poor campaign as she failed to secure a spot on Jamaica’s team to the Paris Games. Tina, who has a personal best time of 10.95, has so far been in good shape this season, which has seen her clocking a season’s best time of 11.02. However, Tia is the fastest woman in the world so far this year with a time of 10.92.

Tina told the Jamaica Observer that she is now more mature compared to her previous season and she has set her sights on securing a place on Jamaica’s team to the World Athletics Championships in Tokyo, Japan, in September.

The mindset is always high, but you know we are in a very ungrateful sport and anything can happen but I have my goals and I have my mindset to make the team so that is what I am doing,” Tina said. “Training has been going well because everybody knows that me and my sister are not just sisters, we are training partners and we both push each other so training is going well.”

Tina says she is proud of her sister’s accomplishments last season and is hoping to make her own mark this season.

“Yes, it is bit of a motivation to know that yes I can do it and her accomplishing what she did last year is motivation for me to wake up and train a little harder and to go hard, but I am taking things step by step, and I know if it is in God’s hands, then it will happen.

“The mindset is always high, but you know we are in a very ungrateful sport and anything can happen, but I have my goals and I have my mindset to make the team, so that is what I am doing.”

Tina produced a good performance to win the women’s 100m race at the JAAA World Athletics Championships Preparation Meet on Saturday. She clocked 11.16 seconds to register the fastest women’s time of the day over the distance.

Tina says she was pleased with her performance.

“I am feeling great, and I am grateful because I finished the race injury-free, and I am happy about that,” she said. “I think that this is one of the best seasons that I have had since I started out in the professional world, and so I am grateful.

“In terms of training and healthwise, this has been the best that I have been since I turned professional.”

Tina Clayton (centre) powers to victory in the women’s 100m dash in heat 1 at the JAAA World Athletics Championships Preparation Meet ahead of Alexxe Henry (left), and Mickaell Moodie of GC College at the National Stadium on Saturday. (Photo: Garfield Robinson)