For the past couple of seasons, the Wonder Twins, Tina and Tia Clayton have excited fans of track and field across the globe with their brilliant exhibitions of raw speed.
Tina, who turns 16 in August, holds age-group records in the 100m for 13-year-old girls; 11.54, run into a headwind of -1.2m/s in Douglasville, Georgia on May 27, 2018. She also holds the 100m age-group record for 14-year-old girls, 11.27s, set at the National Stadium in Kingston on March 17, 2019.
Her sister Tia is not far behind with her personal best of 11.29s set in February 2020.
It borders on the extraordinary how close their personal bests are over 200m – 23.44 for Tia to 23.46 for Tina. The times were set in the same race, the Class-Three Girls 200m finals at the ISSA Boys and Girls Championships in 2019.
The sisters were also among a quartet of Edwin Allen Girls that ran a super-fast 43.62s in the 4x100m relay at Central Champs at the GC Foster College in St. Catherine, in February.
Based on this evidence, there can be little doubt about the potential for these twins to go on to greater things. Even their now former schoolmate Kevona Davis, who knows a little about speed, is in awe.
“I personally think that they have a God-given talent and they are using it to the best of their ability and the sky is the limit for both of them,” said Davis, who will be off to the University of Texas on scholarship in the new school year.
“If they continue on the path they are on, be disciplined, work hard they will reap a lot of success.”
Davis, who boasts a personal best of 11.16, believes the twins may end up being even faster than she is.
“I honestly think that they can,” she said. “If they maintain their level of discipline and all that they have.”
At Champs 2019, Tina won the Class 3 100m in 11.27, while her sister took silver in 11.60, a relatively pedestrian time by their lofty standards.
In 2018, Tia won the Class 3 Girls 100m at Champs, while Tina was beaten over 200m by Gabrielle Matthew of Hydel High. Matthew clocked 23.60 to Clayton’s 23.76.