 Payne helped the Canadian 4 × 400 metres relay team win a gold medal, and finished fourth in the individual 400 metres race, at the 1986 Commonwealth Games.In 1987, she won her second silver medal in the 4 × 400 metres relay at the Pan American Games.A few weeks later, she reached the semi-finals of the 400 metres at the World Championships, and along with Crooks, Killingbeck and Richardson, she took Canada to the fourth position in the 4 × 400 metres relay.