The young track star Tia Clayton has been selected to join Jamaica’s Paris Olympic Team in August 2024.

Originally from Westmoreland, Tia and her twin sister Tina were given an early invitation to Edwin Allen’s track and field program by coach Michael Dyke after he saw the pair performing at the JTA/Sagicor National Primary Schools Athletics Championships in the under-nine category.

Competing for Edwin Allen High School in Clarendon, Tia and Tina dominated the ISSA/Grace Kennedy Boys and Girl Championships (Champs), defending their school’s eighth-straight winning streak in 2022.

The 19-year-old has broken 2 records during the World U20 Championships. Achieving 42.94s in 2021 and 42.59s in 2022.

Tia initially made headlines in track and field with a personal best of 11.37 at the U15 Digicel Central Athletics Championships in February 2019.

Competing in a plethora of national and international track events, the track star and her twin signed with the Maximising Velocity and Power Track Club (MVP) and will be coached by the legendary Stephen Francis, former coach of Olympic medalists Asafa Powell, Shelly-Ann Fraser Pryce, and Elaine Thompson Herah.

Early guidance from Tia’s mother, a sprinting competitor in her youth, encourages her girls to work for their goals no matter how good the competition seems.

Despite fallbacks as a professional athlete in 2023, Tia Clayton ran a new, impressive best 10.86 in the women’s 100m semi-finals at the Jamaica Athletics Administrative Association (JAAA)/PUMA National Junior and Senior Championships on June 28.

Her time qualified her for the Paris Olympics and placed her second, between Shericka Jackson, who placed 1st with 10.84 seconds, and Shelly Ann Fraser Pryce, who came third with 10.94.

The young 100m sensation hopes to snag a medal during the Olympic games and stands firm with the support of her family and the MVP club.