PARIS, France — Jamaica’s Ackera Nugent, one of the favourites for the women’s 100m hurdles gold medal, began her quest for her first Olympic Games title at Stade de France on Wednesday, 3:15 am Jamaica time.

Nugent is the second-fastest 100m hurdler in the world this year with a time of 12.28 seconds, behind the USA’s Masai Russell who is clocked at 12.25 seconds.

Nugent, the national champion, will be joined by world champion Danielle Williams and Janeek Brown. Jamaica won its first Olympic medal in the event at the Tokyo Games in 2021, when Megan Tapper secured bronze.

Nugent, who finished fifth in the final at the World Athletics Championships (World Champs) in Budapest, Hungary, last year, is confident ahead of the start of her event.

“This is a moment that I have prayed for, and standing here right now is a great feeling,” she said. “I will say there is no pressure on me because I don’t live up to the expectations of what people say of me or how people feel about me…At the end of the day, I know what I am capable of doing and I also know where my body is.

“I feel like I need to focus on the little things that I can control, and when the day comes it will come down to who is more prepared. Yes, in this field of hurdlers, and the way hurdling has evolved, you cannot afford to make any mistakes.”

Williams, who has not been having the best of seasons, is the second-fastest Jamaican in the event this year with a time of 12.46 seconds. The two-time world champion produced an upset to win the gold medal from lane one at the world champs. She also won gold in the event at the 2015 World Athletics Championships in Beijing, China.

“I am feeling pretty good,” she said. “I have worked pretty hard to get here, and I am expecting that I will go out and do my best. The first dream was to make the Olympics, and the second dream is to be on the podium and to win a gold medal.”

Williams, who will be competing in her first Olympic Games, says despite the up-and-down season she is having this year, she is backing herself to do well.

“I can show up in the best-possible shape and run the best race of my life and not win a medal but at the end of the day I am giving myself a chance — and I know that once I line up on the track in the final, I can win.”

Brown, who finished third at the JAAA/Puma National Senior Championships in June, is the fourth-fastest Jamaican in the world with her time of 12.61 seconds.