Tia Clayton has explained to Asafa Powell what might have gone wrong in the women’s 100m final at the Paris Olympic Games.
Jamaican youngster Tia Clayton has seemingly disclosed what cost her a podium finish in the women’s 100m final at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games.
Tia Clayton was the sole Jamaican representative in the women’s 100m final after Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce’s unexpected withdrawal from the semifinal. Shericka Jackson had earlier confirmed her decision not to compete in the 100m due to the injury.
Being the only one in the final, just aged 19, Tia Clayton felt like she had the pressure to deliver since Jamaica had the title, having won it at the delayed 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games and 2016 Rio Olympics through Elaine Thompson-Herah.
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However, it was highly unlikely that Tia Clayton would defend the title since it was just but her first time competing against the senior athletes on such a big stage. The Jamaican sprinter had shown great form in the heats and semifinal and was looking forward to replicating it in the final but all that was clouded with nervousness.
The weather was also not favourable for her to make an impact as she admitted that whenever it rains, she tends not to well and that is exactly what happened in Paris.
Tia Clayton would eventually finish a distant seventh but one thing stands out, the tons of experience she got, something she would never have experienced at the ISSA/Grace Kennedy Boys and Girls Championships.
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“The Olympics because it was very nerve-wracking for me but it was good to get the experience, for me, at that young age, apart from the championships,” Tia Clayton told Asafa Powell in a video he shared on his Instagram handle.
“At championships, I usually don’t get nervous but the Olympics made me nervous. It was nerve-wracking when I realised that the rain would start falling, I don’t work well in the rain.”
The youngster has since started her 2025 season, competing at the Central Hurdles Relays and Field Events where she won the race before the Astana Indoor Meet for Amin Tuyakov Prizes where she also claimed top honours.
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Her recent victory was at the Gibson McCook Relays and one thing is evident, the Jamaican is just getting started and she will be the next big thing in the 100m.
