Jamaican Twins Tina and Tia Clayton Praised by Veteran Coach After World Championships Success

One of Jamaica’s athletics prowess in recent years has been the emergence of dynamic twin sprinters Tina and Tia Clayton, who continue to cement their place among the world’s elite. 

Tina, fresh off her silver medal performance at the World Athletics Championships, clocked a personal-best 10.76 seconds in the 100m final.

She finished behind the United States’ Melissa Jefferson-Wooden, who stormed to a championship record of 10.61, while St Lucian Olympic champion Julien Alfred took third in 10.84. 

Tia, meanwhile, battled injury setbacks but still contributed a silver medal in the women’s 4x100m relay and registered her own lifetime best of 10.82 in August.

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The sisters, both 21, ended the season ranked among the world’s top four sprinters, with Jefferson-Wooden (10.61) and Alfred (10.75) just ahead. 

“There will be no pressure at all because she has been doing this since basic school, primary school, high school, World Junior Championships twice, and now at the senior level. She is making the transition to the highest level of the sport, and so she knows what to do,” said Bruce James, president of the MVP Track Club, under which the twins train as quoted by Jamaican Gleaner.

Both Tina and Tia are under the guidance of renowned coach Stephen Francis, who has shaped the careers of global icons such as Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce and Elaine Thompson-Herah. 

Francis’ proven ability to nurture and sustain sprint talent has many in the athletics fraternity confident that the twins will thrive in the years ahead.

“I would say that the two fastest Jamaicans this year over 100 metres are Tia and Tina Clayton, and so I think that they are both very well positioned to continue the legacy of sprinting for Jamaica,” James added.

 “They are both 21 this year and I imagine they still continue to have significant upside to improve performances. I don’t believe that at 21 they have reached they maximum that they can do, I believe that they can still continue to improve.”

James also suggested that the broader sprinting landscape is shifting and expects athletes to run even faster in the future, with the Claytons well placed to be at the forefront of that evolution.

Veteran coach David Riley, who has worked with Excelsior’s track and field programme, echoed similar optimism about the sisters’ growth and composure on the world stage.

“These kids knows how to deal with pressure and therefore they have no problems,” Riley said. 

“They have been through it and they know how to deal with those things. They have been progressing on a path nobody is surprised about, because we are expecting our juniors to make that type of transition and to continue their development, so nobody is surprised.”

Riley also highlighted the importance of this new wave of athletes successfully bridging the gap between junior promise and senior success. 

“As a matter of fact, we are happy for them, because it is an issue that has been discussed so many times about our juniors with great prospects not coming through, but now we are seeing them coming through. So we have made some adjustments that are working for us, and we just need to identify what those things are and just continue,” he concluded.