Jamaican middle-distance standout Natoya Goule-Toppin believes she’s getting closer to her best ahead of the Tokyo World Athletics Championships in September after overcoming her injury issues.

The multiple Olympic and World Championship 800m finalist was unable to add to her 10 national titles last month after finishing second behind Kelly Ann Beckford but booked her spot in Japan’s capital in two months’ time.

There has been concern that the 34-year-old’s form this year, with her season’s best of 1:58.43 seconds set back in May, is below her usual standards. Aside from the COVID-affected 2020 season, Goule-Toppin’s current season’s best is her slowest since 2017.

However, the national 800m record holder says a hamstring injury has hampered her progress this season.

“In the first week of June, I had a nerve issue in my hamstring that caused me to not be able to train properly,” Goule told Tallawah TV.

“Whenever I ran, it felt like it was pulling and it felt horrible. I had to stop, I can’t train, I had to be on the bike — it was so bad and it wasn’t until about [two weeks] ago that I was able to do a full workout without any pain.”

However, Goule-Toppin, who has a personal best of 1:55.96, has been making steady progress with multiple sub two-minute clocking this month, including 1:59:27 seconds at the London Diamond League last week.

The 2018 Commonwealth bronze medallist and 2019 Pan American champion believes she’ll be ready for Tokyo as she seeks to end her medal drought at the World Championships.

“The great thing isn’t the setback but the comeback. I still have two months because my event is the end of the championships so I have up until September to put in the work, put in what I’ve lost and I’m just proud of what I’m doing. I expected to run better [in London] but I will take it for now because I know what’s coming and I know what I can do,” Goule-Toppin said.

The 2021 Tokyo Olympic finalist has faced her share of criticism this season, and she is calling on Jamaicans to offer more support to her and other athletes as they work through various challenges.

“I think whenever an athlete is down, don’t keep them up but try to lift them up because we’re already going through a lot of pressure from our training, our coaches and sponsors because if we don’t run good, our sponsorship will be taken away. So if you see us not competing the way we’re supposed to be competing, don’t assume that they’re washed up and they’re done,” she said.

“I’m 34 and they’re going to be like ‘oh, she’s old’ but I’m just beginning. I’m doing something that a lot of people have not done at this age and still running this fast. I would hope that Jamaican fans out there will be less harsh with the athletes because we go through a lot — mentally, physically and emotionally. If you see us not competing the way we want to, it doesn’t mean we’re over or done. It could be that we’re just coming from an injury, it could be we’re going through something personal, it could be a lot of things. Just try to be more lenient with the athletes,” she added.

Goule-Toppin will be hoping for a podium finish this year after making the finals at the 2019 World Championships in Qatar and the 2022 World Championships in Oregon.