AFTER missing the World Athletics Championships last month, national sprint hurdler Megan Tapper says she’s more motivated than ever to win a global medal in the years to come, especially after signing a sponsorship deal with adidas.

The 2021 Tokyo Olympics bronze medallist ended her 2025 season at the Athlos track and field meet in New York City 10 days ago.

Tapper, the reigning national 100m hurdles champion, was unable to compete at the World Championships in Tokyo last month after suffering a grade one strain in her hamstring.

It was a blow for Tapper, who lowered her personal best from 12.44 seconds to 12.34 seconds in June at the national senior championships at the National Stadium.

Her appearance in Japan’s capital in September would have marked her first major championship as an adidas athlete, having secured a four-year contract in August, after the expiration of her previous deal with Puma.

However, Tapper, 31, says her new relationship with adidas has inspired her to make a significant impact in the sprint hurdles in the seasons ahead.

“I am so grateful that the adidas family has been something that has blown my mind with every interaction,” she told
Citius Mag. “I’ve never experienced this in my life, and I’ve been a signed athlete since 2017. The love, the care, the support, the appreciation, the attention to detail that adidas has showed me for the past year — even when I wasn’t signed to them — was way more than I’ve received from 2017 to 2024 when my contract ended.

“I am with them until 2028. I am hoping — I haven’t been able to since I’ve been signed — but I’m hoping to show up in the best way possible for them because they deserve that. They deserve my everything, and I’m definitely going to give that to them.”

Tapper will train overseas for the 2026 season, after leaving the Reynaldo Walcott-led Elite Performance Track Club to join American Lonnie Greene who heads the University of Kentucky athletics programme.

Tapper returned to the track in the women’s 100m hurdles event at Athlos where she finished sixth in 12.92 seconds. The event was won by reigning Olympic champion Masai Russell in 12.52 seconds.

While disappointed with her placing, Tapper was pleased she could end the season on her terms.

“I didn’t run at ‘Worlds’ so it was just in the last couple of weeks [I] was just getting my hamstring back to race-ready — not 100 per cent, but race-ready, and then trying to get actuallyget race-ready for Athlos,” she said.

“Unfortunately, it went the complete opposite of how I wanted it to go but with the preparation I had and everything that was happening, I’m grateful that I was able to show up.”

The meet was Tapper’s Athlos debut, which is in its second year. The women-only competition is led by billionaire Alexis Ohanian, with event winners walking away with prize money of up to US$60,000 ($9.6 million).

Tapper says it’s one of the best-executed meet she’s ever been a part of.

“Obviously I was a bit nervous and reluctant,” she said. “My body was kind of reluctant — because I haven’t been racing — so I just tried to hype myself up, and Athlos did an amazing job of doing that. The music, the hype, the vibe, track meet of the year — it’s definitely the best way to end the year.

“As Alexis has always said, it’s putting the athlete first — asking us what it is that we prefer, asking us like, ‘How do you want the meet to show up?’ And doing just that, not just pairing and then doing the complete opposite of what you think is the best thing. Just listening to us and implementing it exactly how and they did.”

Megan Tapper of Jamaica competes in the 100m hurdles heat during the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham, England, on August 5, 2022. (Photo: Naphtali Junior)