'I am not proud of myself' - Tia Clayton rues loss to Olympic champion Julien Alfred at Diamond League final in Zurich

Rising Jamaican sprint queen Tia Clayton has rued the missed opportunity of not beating Olympic champion Julien Alfred for the Diamond League title in Zurich.

Alfred proved again why she remains a major force in the women's sprint division, as she stormed to a brilliant time of 10.76s (0.3) to win back-to-back Diamond League titles.

On the other hand, Clayton, despite having a perfect start and on course to cause a major upset, succumbed to the strength of Alfred in the last 50m and settled for second in a solid 10.84s. Marie Josée Ta Lou-Smith, who was earlier disqualified for a false start but ran under protest, finished third in 10.92s after being reinstated.

Following her loss to the Saint Lucian sprint queen, Clayton revealed she wasn't happy with her performance and wanted a win.

"Coming second at a Diamond League final means a lot to me, but it is not what I wanted. I wanted to win. Coming here, my coach told me that I could win today. So I am not proud of myself," she said ruefully.

Clayton, despite having an exceptional start to the 2025 season that saw her dominate most of her indoor and outdoor races, was met with a heartbreaking DNF in the women's 100m final after sustaining a hamstring injury at the Jamaican Championships, as she watched her twin sister, Tina Clayton clinch her first national title.

This unfortunate circumstance meant she won't be on the Jamaican women's 100m team to the World Championships in Tokyo - a harsh reality that will see her drop in the pecking order after being an Olympic finalist in Paris last summer.

With race against time to still try and make the Jamaican team to Tokyo via the Diamond League wild card slot, Clayton competed at the Silesia meet, where she clocked a massive personal best of 10.82s to finish second behind world leader Melissa Jefferson-Wooden and book her spot in the Diamond League final in Zurich.

A win for her ahead of Alfred would have seen her gain the automatic wild card, but unfortunately, she was outclassed by the Saint Lucian sprint queen. It remains to be seen if the Jamaican Athletics Association will bend the rules in her favour to see her compete in Tokyo.