Sprinting royalty Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce returned to the very track that shaped her legend, where she’d risen, stumbled, and triumphantly risen again. But this time, it wasn’t just about her. It was about what was coming.
Tina and Tia Clayton, Jamaica’s electrifying 20-year-old twins, didn’t just show up to pay homage. They arrived to shake the foundations. And by the time the women’s 100m final was over at the Doha Diamond League, they had done exactly that.
Tia blazed to a world-leading 10.92 seconds, while Tina followed with a blistering 11.02. Not far behind was Great Britain’s Amy Hunt in 11.03, leaving the iconic Fraser-Pryce, sprinting’s ever-defiant queen, in unfamiliar territory, fourth place with 11.05.
The track didn’t whisper the future that evening. It screamed.
More Than a Passing Storm
For some, it might have felt like a passing of the torch. But for seasoned sprint fans, and former US sprint icon Justin Gatlin, it was something else entirely.
Speaking on the Ready Set Go podcast, Gatlin dismissed any talk of a decline for the multiple-time world and Olympic champion.
“For Mommy Rocket, I’m never really concerned about her when it comes to the normal season,” he said. “She always shows up when it counts.”
Gatlin reminded the world of what Fraser-Pryce’s career has always been about, timing. Knowing when to conserve, when to strike, when to own the moment.
Doha, in Gatlin’s view, wasn’t a fall from grace. It was a calculated warm-up. The real stage, he argued, awaits later this season at the World Championships, where Fraser-Pryce has made a habit of rewriting scripts and snatching crowns back.
And yet, what the Clayton twins did was no fluke.
The Rise of the Sisters
Tia and Tina Clayton aren’t just fresh faces in the Jamaican sprint machine. They’re the future rapidly becoming the present. Tia’s 10.92 wasn’t just a race win. It was a statement. And in the aftermath, she made it clear: she’s far from satisfied.
“I made the World Leading mark, but honestly, I didn’t do the best possible,” Tia admitted.
Despite claiming victory and world lead honors, her focus was on the start she felt had betrayed her. That hunger for perfection, especially after such a performance, marks the DNA of a champion in the making.
Perhaps even more telling was the symmetry of the moment. The twins finishing 1-2 wasn’t just a family affair. It was a nation’s promise.
“It is very special for me and my twin sister to finish 1st and 2nd in this event tonight,” Tia reflected.
What This Means for Fraser-Pryce
According to Gatlin, the Clayton twins aren’t ready to dethrone the queen just yet. And perhaps not entirely ever, because if Fraser-Pryce’s career has taught us anything, it’s that her crown isn’t one to be seized easily.
But what’s undeniable is that the narrative has shifted. The twins are no longer chasing shadows. They are now forces sprinting alongside the greats, pushing them, testing them, and occasionally beating them.
For Fraser-Pryce, Doha might have been a rehearsal, but for Tia and Tina, it was a declaration. And with the Racers Grand Prix in Kingston looming, Tia has unfinished business.
“I didn’t do it because I didn’t get the start I always get,” she said ominously.
Jamaican sprinting has never lacked for stars. But it might be witnessing a rare, seismic changing of the guard.
The queen isn’t done dancing yet. But the Clayton twins have made it abundantly clear: they aren’t waiting for an invitation to the throne.
