Danielle Williams came up big for Jamaica on Sunday, powering to victory in the women’s 100m dash to secure the US$100,000 top prize in the Short Hurdles category as the inaugural Grand Slam Track Series concluded at the National Stadium in Kingston.
Williams, the two-time World 100m hurdles champion, displayed her flat speed with a winning time of 11.54 seconds, narrowly holding off compatriot Ackera Nugent, who finished second in 11.57. The win capped a consistent two-day showing for Williams, who had placed second in the 100m hurdles on Saturday with a time of 12.70, behind Tia Jones’ world-leading 12.63.
Her combined effort earned her 20 points — eight from the hurdles and 12 from her 100m victory — enough to top the Short Hurdles category standings and walk away as the only Jamaican athlete to claim a US$100,000 bonus at the Kingston stop of the four-meet series.
Speaking after the race, a beaming Williams said the goal was simple: “I just turned my mind to just having some fun and try and beat everybody else.” While she admitted she doesn’t usually run flat sprints, she added, “I know I’m pretty speedy. I have a lot of speed… and it was just a fun run to come and just have fun.”
Despite the massive payday, Williams said the money wasn’t her focus. “To be honest, I really don’t think about the money like that. I try to focus on the things that I can control, and that is my run, my race. It’s a cool concept, and it’s good to know you walk away with so much money. It's definitely is a great plus to us, and we deserve it because we train as hard as any other — probably harder than every other sport — just for 12 seconds, and you can’t really get it back. So I’m definitely pleased with that.”
Jones, who finished sixth in Sunday’s sprint in 12.26, had to settle for second overall with 18 points, while Camacho-Quinn was third in the 100m dash in 11.73, finishing just ahead of Denisha Cartwright (11.74), Masai Russell (11.86), and Amber Hughes (12.32).
With the Paris Olympics looming later this year, Williams said the Grand Slam is an exciting new wrinkle in the competition calendar but she is still sticking to what works. “It’s the same approach. We use every race as development, trying to work on some things in training and see how it translates to the race. Then we go back and tweak where we need to tweak… it’s a good start, a good foundation. You know, it’s my first competition, my first race of the season. Don’t usually start so early. We’re coming off a lot of months of training, so it’s good to really see where that training has taken me and how much work I need to do.”
With this performance, Williams not only walks away richer, but she’s also laid down a serious marker for what could be another stellar year on the global stage.
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