The transition from being a collegiate athlete to the professional ranks can be daunting for any athlete.

The aspect that hits a lot of athletes hard is the absence of the team aspect of collegiate athletics that completely goes away once you hit that next level.

Jamaican 100m hurdles record holder, Ackera Nugent, is currently experiencing the difficulties of that transition.

The 22-year-old turned professional in July 2023 after a stellar collegiate career at Baylor University and the University of Arkansas from 2021-2023.

During her time in college, Nugent won the NCAA Indoor 60m hurdles title in 2021 and 2023. She also took home the NCAA Outdoor 100m hurdles title in 2023.

Professionally, Nugent represented Jamaica at the 2023 World Championships in Budapest, finishing fifth in the 100m hurdles in 12.61.

A year later, Nugent competed at her first Olympic Games in Paris, failing to finish in the 100m hurdles final before recovering to set a new National record of 12.24 a few weeks later in Rome.

She closed out that season with a third-place finish at the Diamond League Final in Brussels last September.

This season, Nugent has already claimed her first senior medal for Jamaica with 60m hurdles bronze at the World Indoor Championships in Nanjing in March.

“The transition is hard. I don’t really like talking about this but my first two seasons as a professional have been a bit depressing for me,” Nugent told Citius Mag after recently competing at the inaugural Grand Slam Track event in Kingston from April 4-6.

“I haven’t really been liking the sport as much but I feel like as I get along and get older, you start to realize that everybody in the professional world is out for themselves. It’s not a fun thing anymore, it’s business so I’m just finding back my light and I think I’m connecting more with the crowd as I continue to go on with championships,” Nugent added.

“I just feel like, competition-wise, it’s not fun but then I have to understand that it’s business,” was Nugent’s answer when asked what aspect of the transition makes it toughest.

The 2021 World Under-20 champion was third overall at last week’s event after a fourth-place finish in the 100m hurdles and second-place finish in the 100m for 13 points, trailing American Tia Jones (15 points) and Jamaican teammate Danielle Williams (20 points).

“It feels really good. I enjoyed the crowd and I’m so happy that a Jamaican won in our hometown. It’s a great thing going forward and I hope it keeps getting better and better,” Nugent said.