In the preliminary heats of the 2024 USATF Indoor Championships, Tia Jones matched the world record with a 7.67-second finish, then in the finals she clocked a 7.68 for the win. But as she finished the final race, she collided with the crash pads. This led to a significant ACL injury that sidelined her for the remainder of the season. Jones underwent ACL reconstructive surgery, and within 10 weeks, she was back in training in May 2024. Then, in 2025, at the Kingston Grand Slam Track, she ran the 100m hurdles with a time of 12.63 seconds. Now, as the Miami Grand Slam Track hit the track, Jones posted a significant record, and then gave a message to her younger self. What did she say?

“I was kind of like, dang, we really ran that. We did it, it’s us,” said Tia Jones in an interview after the race when she was asked about her reaction upon seeing the wind legal. The wind speed for the race was +2.0, just borderline of what is considered the legal speed. Even the interviewer expressed his astonishment over the wind speed. Jones pointed out that, ” Yeah, Masai and I were literally looking like, is that real?” She confessed that they were waiting for it to change, but it didn’t, and they were happy.

Masai Russel broke the American record in this very same race, clocking a time of 12.17 seconds. This is now the second fastest time recorded globally. On the other hand, Tia Jones clocked in the second fastest time in American history with 12.19 seconds.

The interviewer, pointing out how he has been a fan of the 24-year-old since her college days (she had won two gold medals at the IAAF World U20 Championships), asked the athlete for a message to a 10-year-old self. Jones replied, “I would tell 10-year-old me to don’t be afraid to taking those hard decisions. And the people telling you that your mindset is too strong, it’s not too strong.” She further said that she would advise her younger self not to listen to the internet.

What she wants her younger self to do is just keep going, “and don’t be scared to leave the nest, because it took me a while to leave my dad, because I just got to this training group last season. I went pro my senior year of high school, and I was with my dad my whole life.” She further pointed out that working with Olympians in her camps has changed something in her and has given her the extra edge of becoming an Olympian one day. She has trained with Olympic champion Jasmine Camacho-Quinn under coach John Coghlan. Additionally, she has been seen celebrating with fellow training partners like Gabby Thomas.

The interview then brought notice of her injuries. She has had an ACL tear and an Achilles tendon injury in 2021. Getting to the point, wishing her health, he asked her about her mindset for the upcoming World Athletics Championships scheduled for September 2025 in Tokyo, Japan. Jones replied, “My mindset now is just to put my trust into the coach, my coach, Coach Bailey. Everything she says, do it. I’m more so an athlete. Whatever coach tells me to do, I’m gonna do it.” Tonja Buford-Bailey has been a three-time Olympian, and Jones has been under her ever since she joined the Buford-Bailey Track Club in 2023.

However, injuries had not been her only concern. Glancing at her personal life, a legal battle with her ex-fiancé, NFL player Xavier Worthy, had turned her upside down. And if updates by TMZ are to be believed, then in April, both the sprinter and the wide receiver had reached a legal agreement and have subsequently dropped cases against one another. Now, it seems like the athlete has moved on.

“But just keep my head down and keep focused and don’t miss a day at practice” is her motto. The interviewer congratulated her on her historic run and left. But what was so historic about it?

Tia Jones’ historic Grand Slam run

The 100-meter hurdles in the Miami Grand Slam Track have been marked by Masai Russell’s storming to an American Record of 12.17s (2.0). Though Russell might have broken the previous record of 12.20 seconds held by Keni Harrison since 2016, Tia Jones was no less. When Russell crossed the finish line, the commentator’s exact words were, “That’s perhaps Russell just getting it.” That’s how close Jones was to victory.

Before the race began, a commentator also said, “don’t forget jones over lane 1” and damn right she proved it why no one shouldn’t! As soon as the cue to run came, two athletes almost recreated the Infinity War race scene. The one where Captain America and Black Panther ran faster than anybody else. Jones in lane one and Russell in lane 4 were outrunning every single other competitor. The camera over their head could not help in understanding who was in the lead; both of them seemed parallel.

Ultimately, Jones, who has been slowly getting back after her injuries, finished second with a time of 12.19, only 0.2 seconds after the 24-year-old. With this timing, not only did she become the second fastest American in 100-meter hurdles, but her time now ranks third worldwide. Russell is now second worldwide behind Tobi Amusan’s 12.12 seconds. Who do you think will break that record?