Wonder twins Tia and Tina continue to make mom proud
Tishawna Pinnock anxiously watched her TV, waiting for the birthday and Mother’s Day gift that her twins Tia and Tina Clayton promised her at Champs on Thursday.
But the 1-2 finish was not to be as Tia left her blocks too early and was disqualified.
“Mi belly start move same time when mi see it,” Pinnock, 37, said. “One of the times mi say mi never did ago watch it but when mi see Tina start cry mi say mi ago watch it. It was comforting to see how she pulled through for her sister.”
Tina, the younger of the Edwin Allen High School wonder twins by five minutes, did well to hold her composure. She won the Class Two girls’ 100m final at the National Stadium in 11.38 seconds, a season’s best for her.
“They call me from the coach phone, and dem say ‘Mommy, Happy Birthday and I Love You’. I said thank you and asked them what they were going to give me. They said I should sit in front the TV. I told them that I was going to do my hair and watch the race. I have a schedule of their races, so when the time come for them to run, I was sitting in front the TV with my pot covers ready to make noise,” she said.
Pinnock, who works as a laundry attendant at Couples Negril, in Westmoreland, called back immediately after the race.
“I called and told her (Tina) congrats and told her to give her sister the phone. I told Tia that it was God works and that I still feel proud of her to give her best in the relays and she said ‘Okay, Mom, I will’,” said Pinnock. The twins come from humble beginnings in Crowder district in Grange Hill, Westmoreland.
SUGAR AND WATER TOOK US TO BED
“I am coming from a one room with three of them, and many nights a sugar and water took us to bed,” she recalled. “When people see dem shine they have no idea what they have been through and they want to go higher. They are working towards that also, so I am very proud of them.”
The proud mom said that her daughters’ talent first became known in 2014 at the JTA/Sagicor Under11 Champs, but they had showed athletic prowess much earlier.
“As babies, at seven months, they never step off like normal babies. It’s like they were running. And from there, dem always a run especially when mi send dem go shop. From basic school, and then mostly into primary primary school, mi see that dem start tek on to mi footsteps,” she said.
Pinnock said the twins enjoy an unwavering amount of support from their five siblings. The youngest is two years old, and Pinnock said he is also showing early signs of having an interest in the sport. “I grow my children without a father so they are all close-knit. They are always looking out for each other,” she said.
According to their coach, Michael Dyke, both Tia and Tina have maintained satisfactory grades in the classroom as they continue to develop their talents on the track. This pleases Pinnock.
“Dem always wah to be one and two, even in the classrooms dem always wah finish first and second. They are always looking for each other. When I turned dem over to Edwin Allen I got a lot of support from Mr Dyke who is like a father to me. I can’t leave him out of anything. My big daughter and husband have also been a tremendous help. I am just very grateful for everything,” she said.