Jamaica had 9 women who broke the 11-second barrier in the 100m in 2022. Among them was World Championships silver relay medal winner Nataliah Whyte who is reflecting gratefully on a solid 2022 season. After lowering her 100m personal best to 10.97 seconds, Whyte can point to several accomplishments that made her efforts all the more worthwhile.

Now 25, Whyte cut her 100m benchmark from 11.04 on April 30 in Jacksonville, Florida. In June, the 2014 Youth Olympic 200m winner reached the highly competitive final at the Jamaican National Championships where a 6th place finish put her on the plane to Eugene, Oregon for the World Championships, to Birmingham, England for the Commonwealth Games and to Freeport, Bahamas for the NACAC Open.

After running the heats of the 4×100 relay in Eugene, reaching both the 100 and 200 finals at the Games and taking a place in the NACAC 200 final, she was happy. “This past season was good to me”, she celebrated on her INSTAGRAM page last week.

“I’m so grateful for another opportunity to pursue this beautiful sport that brings so much mixed emotions that I’m not quite sure what I would do without it.”

She was fast in the clock with her personal best making her one of 39 women to break 11 seconds this year. In addition, she was one of nine Jamaican women under the old barrier.

She backed up her personal best with a legal time of 11.08 and a wind-aided 10.86.

The MVP International athlete has learnt important lessons in her second year representing Jamaica at the highest level. “This year has taught me to never give up; that there is always light at the end of the tunnel and with the determination and of course the right people around you, encouraging you and standing by your side, the impossible is possible”, said the 2014 World Under 20 200 finalist.

She wasn’t far from a breakthrough in that event as well. Her best legal time over the 200m distance was just 0.02 off her lifetime benchmark of 22.55 seconds. In addition, Whyte also has a wind-aided time of 22.31.

Her first taste of big-time track and field came in 2019 when she teamed with Shelly-Ann Fraser Pryce, Jonielle Smith and Shericka Jackson to win the gold medal at the 2019 World Championships in Doha, Qatar. Overjoyed to make it back to the top level at the same Eugene venue that hosted the 2014 World Junior Championships, she concluded, “Lord, you were my strength through it all. My family, coach, therapist, teammates and friend, “Puma, “Puma Performance. I couldn’t have done it without any of you.”