Danielle Williams on her way to a personal best 60m hurdles performance at New Balance Grand Prix last weekend
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Free of injury and embracing a new mindset are among the key factors why Danielle Williams is enjoying her sport once more.
The 2015 World 100m hurdles champion and 2019 bronze medalist is off to a fast start this season, losing just once, a third-place finish in the 60m dash at the Clemson Invitational on February 14.
A week earlier she ran 38.57 to win an indoor 300m at Clemson.
Since then she is 2-0 in finals, winning the 60m hurdles in Karlsruhe, Germany in 7.84 and then just last weekend at the New Balance Grand Prix in New York, Williams ran a new lifetime best of 7.83, the second-fastest time in the world this year.
Only 100m hurdles world-recorder Kendra Harrison with 7.81 has run faster.
She explained to Sportsmax.TV earlier this week that so far this season she has been healthy and happy.
“Last year was a disastrous season and so this year I have had a renewed mindset. I am determined to not have as disastrous a season, I can’t repeat that”, she said from her base in South Carolina.
“Last year I started the season injured, I finished the season injured so I am of the mindset that I have to stay healthy this year. I love competing so I am trying to find the fun in what I am doing once more because I wasn’t having fun last year. So that’s my only desire this year, to stay healthy, to have fun and to compete well.”
This season has been markedly different from 2021 when a raft of injuries hindered her preparation, her ability to compete and played a part in Williams missing out on Jamaica’s Olympic team for the second consecutive cycle. She said it was a difficult time.
“Last year this time I was injured, I had foot problems, I couldn’t run, I had to take a month off,” she said.
“I was down in the dumps for a lot of last year. I lost my confidence.
“I started doubting myself and my ability because I was injured all the time and I wasn’t as strong and it was affecting a lot of things so (this year) I have taken a different approach to the gym, I have taken a different approach to practice, to recovery and I am doing all the little things that I didn’t pay enough attention to and that has led to improvements in a lot of areas on the track but mostly off the track and definitely in my mindset going into practice and into competition.”
The biggest change, she said, is with her physicality.
“The difference this season is that I am healthy and I am stronger, much, much stronger,” she said. “I changed weight programmes so I am more powerful and strong.”
Armed with greater confidence and greater strength, Williams is approaching the full season with greater optimism. She is looking forward to the World Championships in Oregon in the summer and is not ruling out the Commonwealth Games where she won silver on Australia’s Gold Coast in 2018.
“I plan to take it one step at a time. I am definitely targeting trying to go to World Indoors when that is finished we will turn our attention to the outdoor season,” she said. “I am pretty sure World Championships is the main target.”
Regarding the Commonwealth Games, she said, she isn’t sure what Coach Lennox Graham has planned but the Diamond League circuit is also in her plans for the season.
“We are going to try to do as much as we can,” she said.
Leighton Levy is a journalist with 28 years’ experience covering crime, entertainment, and sports. He joined the staff at SportsMax.TV as a content editor two years ago and is enjoying the experience of developing sports content and new ideas. At SportsMax.tv he is pursuing his true passion - sports.
Wins for Jamaican duo McLeod and Anderson in Italy on Thursday
As they continue their preparations for Jamaica’s national championships in June, Olympic champion Omar McLeod and World Championship silver medallist Britany Anderson, were both winners at a La Fratellanza 1874 meeting in Italy on Thursday.
McLeod, who celebrated his 30th birthday on Thursday, won the 100m in a brisk 10.32 in a race that also included Britain’s Adam Gemili. Obviously elated over his victory, the 2017 world champion, declared on Instagram, “A win today in the 100m was all I had on my birthday wish list.
“10.32 in an ankle freezing 15-degree weather is a solid opener. Beyond excited for what is to come this season.”
Meanwhile, Anderson, in only her second hurdles race back from injury and knee surgery that saw her miss the entire 2023 season, clocked 13.34 into a 1.4 m/s headwind in a dominant victory in which she widened her lead at each hurdle.
As the meeting concluded on Thursday, things are looking up for the Jamaican sprint hurdlers looking to reclaim their places among Jamaica's elite as the Olympics approach this summer.
Bummer! Thompson-Herah not on entry lists for Sunday's USATF Bermuda Grand Prix
Contrary to recent reports that five-time Olympic gold medallist Elaine Thompson-Herah would be making her season debut at the USATF Bermuda Grand Prix on Sunday, the athlete’s name does not appear on any of the start lists for the event.
Checks by Sportsmax.TV indicate that Thompson-Herah is not listed in the 100m or 200m events at the meet where several other Caribbean athletes are down to compete. According to the start lists published on the meet’s results page, Jamaica’s Kemba Nelson and Alana Reid are set to contest the 100m in a quality field that also includes Tamari Davis and Javianne Oliver of the United States.
In the 200m, Ashanti Moore is the only Jamaican listed.
Meanwhile, Stacy-Ann Williams, Rushell Clayton and Junelle Bromfield, are the Jamaicans listed for the 400m.
Just recently BerNews reported that anticipation is palpable among Bermuda's Jamaican community, with Yackeisha Weir, president of the Jamaican Association of Bermuda (JAB), expecting a strong showing of support for Thompson-Herah at the Flora Duffy Stadium. Weir emphasized the significance of Thompson-Herah's presence, particularly with the upcoming Paris Olympics on the horizon.
"The anticipation is high this year, especially as we have the fastest woman alive competing," said Weir in an interview with BerNews. "With the Olympic Games taking place this summer, Bermuda has a chance to see a preview of Paris. It’s an honour to have Elaine on the island."
However, based on the start lists that have now been published that anticipation among the Jamaican community would have been for naught.
Dalilah Muhammad headlines additions to star-studded line up for Jamaica Athletics Invitational
The excitement is building for the upcoming Jamaica Athletics Invitational, set to take place on May 11 at the National Stadium in Kingston, as 2016 Olympic 400m hurdles champion Dalilah Muhammad joins the list of confirmed international stars for the event. Muhammad, a former world record holder and two-time world champion, brings her stellar track record to Kingston following her silver medal performance at the Tokyo Games.
Alongside Muhammad, a host of emerging Jamaican talents will also grace the track, including standout sprinters Alana Reid, Briana Williams, Bouwahjgie Nkrumie, and Sandrey Davison.
Reid has been training alongside World 100m champion Sha'Carri Richardson in Florida and will be looking to make an early statement on her form leading into the national championships in June.
Williams, under the mentorship of distinguished coach John Smith in California, is an Olympic sprint relay gold medalist and a two-time World Championship silver medallist who is eager for a return to form.
Nkrumie, who last year became the first Jamaican schoolboy to break the 10-second barrier, and Davison, both formidable sprinters in their own right, add depth to sprint line up with Davison currently holding the title of fastest Jamaican over 100m this year.
Marvin Anderson, Athletes' Liaison for the Jamaica Athletics Invitational, expressed his enthusiasm for the calibre of athletes set to compete. "We are pleased with the confirmed list to date and excited about the level of competition the athletes and fans should experience," he remarked.
Anticipation is high for a thrilling series of events both on the track and in the field.
Tickets for the May 11 event are already available online, with ticket locations opening on May 4. Grandstand tickets are priced at $3,000, while bleacher seating is free of charge. The meet is scheduled to run from 7:00 pm to 9:30 pm, followed by an after-party to celebrate an evening of world-class athletics.
The Jamaica Athletics Invitational promises to deliver top-notch competition and showcase the immense talent within the track and field community. With international stars like Dalilah Muhammad and rising Jamaican sensations like Alana Reid and Briana Williams, fans can expect an unforgettable evening of athletic prowess at the National Stadium in Kingston.
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