TOKYO, Japan – It wasn’t too long ago that Tina Clayton was contemplating walking away, worn down by injuries and doubt.

On Sunday inside a packed and pumping Japan National Stadium, the 21-year-old, who is competing in her first senior international championship, powered her way to a World Athletics Championships silver medal in the women’s 100m final and underlined her growing hunger for even more success, having tasted from the well.

Her success came on a day when Jamaica secured its first three medals at the championships including a one-two in the men’s 100m final with Oblique Seville, with a personal best 9.77 seconds, finishing ahead of Kishane Thompson, 9.82 and Noah Lyles 9.88.

Clayton left the blocks like a bat from hell and in 10 strides, the Olympic champion Julien Alfred was covered. The rest of what was a stacked field, which included her iconic teammates Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce and Shericka Jackson, was seeing the back of her head, but the American Melissa Jefferson-Wooden was already out of sight.

Jefferson-Wooden’s win came in a Championship Record time of 10.61 seconds (+0.3) with Clayton posting a big personal best of 10.76 to take the silver medal ahead of Alfred, 10.84. Shericka Jackson was fourth in 10.88, her best time this season, while Fraser-Pryce crossed the line in sixth place in a time of 11.03.

“This is a stepping stone for me to achieve bigger goals. Now is the time for me to get hungrier. It is not the time to get complacent because I won a silver medal, it is the time to be hungry for more,” said Clayton.

“When you are at the top, they will come for you, so you have to stay hungry and put in the same amount of work you did to get to the top in order to be able to stay at the top.”

That determination is rooted in a difficult chapter of her career. Recently, Clayton was struggling through injuries and health challenges that left her questioning whether she had a future in the sport at all.

“I am very grateful…I remember last year dealing with injuries, also some medical things. I had some doubt, with everything going on I wanted to give up because I felt that this would not work out,” she recalled. “But shout-out to my mother, who is always behind me and speaking life into me and probably if it wasn’t for her I would have given up already. And she was in the stands to witness everything, so I am very grateful.”

Her mother’s unwavering encouragement, along with the support of her close circle, proved to be the difference.

“My coach, my sister, my friends — I have two friends that even when I doubt myself they speak it and believe even when I don’t,” Clayton said. “My mother is always on it, telling me to believe in myself because I am a champion and that was on display today, and I am very grateful for her and for the coaching staff at MVP also. They have been behind me 24/7, they have seen the potential and they made sure I was able to fulfill it.”

Now, with her first senior global medal in hand, Clayton is clear that silver is not the destination — but the start of something greater. That drive is sharpened by the presence of one of her biggest inspirations, Fraser-Pryce, who is competing in her final World Championships.

“She is a legend, everybody knows she is my idol and she is someone I look up to,” Clayton said. “Competing with her is an honour and now she is on her final lap and I get the opportunity to compete with her on her final lap; it’s a real honour.”

From the edge of quitting to the edge of greatness, Clayton’s silver medal signals not only her resilience but her intention to grow her own legacy in global athletics.

Jamaica’s Tina Clayton reacts to the women’s 100m final results on Sunday.