Jodie Williams

Jodie Williams

Williams at the 2011 European Athletics Indoor Championships.
Personal information
Nationality	United Kingdom
Born	(1993-09-28) 28 September 1993 Welwyn Garden City, Hertfordshire
Height	1.74 m (5 ft 8 1⁄2 in)[1]
Weight	60 kg (130 lb)
Sport
Sport	Athletics
Event(s)	100 metres, 200 metres
Club	Herts Phoenix AC
Achievements and titles
Personal best(s)	100 m: 11.18 (Tallinn 2011, NJR) 200 m: 22.79 (Loughborough 2010)
Medal record Women's athletics Competitor for  Great Britain European U23 Championships Gold 2013 Tampere 200 m Silver 2013 Tampere 100 m Silver 2013 Tampere 4×100 m relay World Junior Championships Gold 2010 Moncton 100 m Silver 2010 Moncton 200 m European Junior Championships Gold 2011 Tallinn 100 m Gold 2011 Tallinn 200 m Bronze 2011 Tallinn 4×100 m relay World Youth Championships Gold 2009 Brixen 100 m Gold 2009 Brixen 200 m

Jodie Alicia Williams (born 28 September 1993)^[2] is a British sprinter who specialises in the 100 and 200 metres. She is the former World Youth Champion over both distances, the reigning World Junior and European Junior Champion in the 100 m and European Junior Champion in the 200 m.^[3]

Williams had a five-year long unbeaten streak of 151 races in the sprints, beginning with the start of her athletics career in 2005 and lasting until July 2010, when she was runner-up to Stormy Kendrick in the 200 m at the World Junior Championships.^[4][5][6] Williams is the British youth record holder over the 60 m, 100 m and 200 m and the British junior record holder over the 100 m. At the age of sixteen, she was the top-ranked British woman over 200 m in 2010.^[7]

Williams has been described as the "sort of athlete every country is waiting for" by UK Athletics Head Coach, Charles Van Commenee,^[8] and has also been praised by Allyson Felix, who stated "I think Jodie has great potential. She's young but she can still accomplish a lot of things".^[9]

Background

Williams was born in Welwyn Garden City, Hertfordshire to an English father, Richard Williams and a Trinidadian mother, Christine Williams. Both of her parents were county-level sprinters. Richard ran for Hertfordshire, while Christine ran for Sussex. She also has two siblings, her younger brother named Ben and younger sister called Hannah. Her father recognized her talent at a young age: "Jodie would have finished while her nearest rival was still only about halfway up the track".^[10]

Williams began to take athletics seriously when she was 13 years-old.^[11]

Williams was educated at Heath Mount School before attending Queenswood School, Hertfordshire. She is now a sixth form student at Dame Alice Owen's School, in Potters Bar, Hertfordshire.^[12]

Williams is currently sponsored by Nike, Allianz and The Barrie Wells Foundation.

2009 World Youth Champion

After taking the England Athletics Under-20 Championships in 100 m, in a time of 11.48 s. She went on to Brixen, Italy for the World Youth Championships to take part in the 100 m and 200 m. In the 100 m semi-final, she set a world-leading time for a youth athlete of 11.40 s. In the event final she ran 0.01 s quicker to clinch her first world title, defeating Ashton Purvis and Alison Peter. In the 200 m final, she ran another youth world leading time of 23.08 s to clinch another gold medal, making her the first girl to achieve a 100/200 m sprint double at the competition.

2010 World Junior Championships

In 2010, Williams started off her season in strong form – at the Loughborough Games, she broke the 200 m British junior record when she ran 22.79 s, beating a strong field including senior Olympian Joice Maduaka. A week later, at the Bedford International Games, she broke the 100 m British junior record when she ran 11.24 s, which ranks fifth on the Youth All-Time list, behind only Chandra Cheeseborough, Marion Jones, Angela Williams, and Gabriella Mayo.^[13] After winning both the events at the England Athletics U20 Championships, she set off for the 2010 World Junior Championships in Athletics, which were to be held in Moncton, Canada.

Williams carried on her unbeaten run by winning the 100 m final in a time of 11.40 s to make it 149 races unbeaten. After the race she said "I thought if I got off to a good start I’d be in with a good chance and that’s just what I did. I knew it was going be a close race and I wasn’t quite sure I could come out and perform again, so it’s obviously a huge relief and the pressure has lifted a bit."

The next day it was the 200 m. She came first in her heat and semi final. Williams was the fastest qualifier, but suffered her first defeat in her athletics career by coming second in the final to American Stormy Kendrick. Williams believes her loss was a "blessing in disguise".^[14] In the 4 x 100 m relay the Great Britain team was eliminated due to a bad baton exchange between Williams and Rebekah Wilson.

2011 Indoor Season & Double European Junior Champion

In 2011, Williams became the youngest winner of the UK Indoor Championships over the 60 m, since 15-year-old Sonia Lannaman won in 1971. She ran a personal best of 7.24 s in a strong British field that included Bernice Wilson and Jeanette Kwakye. This led to an automatic qualification for the 2011 European Athletics Indoor Championships in Paris.

This has not been the first time that Williams had achieved a standard to make a senior Great Britain team, but this was the first time she had taken her place in the senior Great Britain team.

In Paris, Williams ran 7.21 s in the European Indoor Championships 60 m final, finishing fourth. She had missed out on a medal by 0.01 s, but despite this, she said she had "surprised herself".^[15]

At the European Athletics Junior Championships, Williams won the 100 m setting a new personal best and championship record of 11.18 s, breaking the previous record by 0.03 s.^[16] She explained "I've been training better than last year and my times in training have been better than last year so I knew I had 11.1 in me, I've just not had the right conditions until today." ^[17]

Within 24 hours, she also won the 200 m in a season's best of 22.94 – despite a strong headwind of −1.5 m/s to complete a sprint double, an unprecedented achievement for a British woman.^[18] To end the championships, she ran on the fourth leg of the 4 x 100 m relay to collect a bronze medal along with her team mates.

2012 Indoor Season

Williams ran a season's best time of 7.29 s to finish second behind Jeanette Kwakye at the Aviva UK Indoor Championships. She was subsequently chosen to run at the IAAF World Championships in Istanbul, Turkey. Before the championships began, Williams stated that her aim was to make the semi-finals at the championships.^[19] In the heat, she came 3rd with a time of 7.40 s and in the semi-final she came 5th with a time of 7.32 s and did not advance to the final.

After the World Indoor Championships, Williams announced that she was to focus on getting selected for the 100 m at the London 2012 Games. She stated, 'Now it’s onwards and upwards for the Olympics. I’m really concentrating on the 100m because it’s always been a dream of mine to do the 100m at the Olympics'.^[20]

Outside Athletics

Williams has been used on many advertising campaigns, most recently the Nike #makeeverymovecount and #makeitcount campaign. She is also featured on the NikeWomen Training App. The National Portrait Gallery 'Road to 2012: Aiming High' exhibition also featured Williams amongst many other athletes.

Williams has come runner-up to Tom Daley twice (2009 & 2010) for the BBC Young Sports Personality of the Year award.

Major competitive record

Representing  Great Britain
2009	World Youth Championships	Brixen, Italy	1st	100 m
			1st	200 m
2010	World Junior Championships	Moncton, Canada	1st	100 m	11.40
			2nd	200 m	23.19
2011	European Indoor Championships	Paris, France	4th	60 m	7.21
2011	European Junior Championships	Tallinn, Estonia	1st	100 m	11.18
			1st	200 m	22.94
			3rd	4 x 100 m	45.00
2012	World Indoor Championships	Istanbul, Turkey	16th (sf)	60 m	7.32

Personal bests

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Jodie Williams.

• Jodie Williams profile at IAAF
• Jodie Williams on Twitter
• Power of 10 profile for Jodie Williams.

Awards and achievements
Preceded by Sandra Perković	Women's European Athletics Rising Star of the Year 2011	Succeeded by Angelica Bengtsson