Briana Williams

Williams, the Tokyo Olympics 4x100m gold medallist, clocked a fast 7.22 to win the dash ahead of Legacy Athletics’ Jura Levy, who ran 7.34.

Rohanna Wright of Swept Track Club ran 7.71 for third.

Blake was just as impressive, winning his short dash in 6.63 running into a negative wind, just holding off his more accomplished club-mate Yohan Blake, who clocked 6.64.

Emmanuel Archibald finished third in 6.70.

Williams, who has been training with the group since September, was chuffed about the performance.

“It felt very quick. I am just happy to be here to start the season,” she said, adding that her training has been going well, working on things that will make her better for the coming season.

“We have been working on endurance and the last part of races and this is just the start getting to the 100 and 200.”

The work, she said, is helping her get to her goals of running consistent 10.7s and 10.8s for the season ahead.

After just five months training in Jamaica, Williams said she feels at home and appreciates the support from the fans and her teammates at Titans.

“I am enjoying my coaches, my teammates and I am enjoying training,” said Williams, who races next in another 60m dash at the Gibson Relays o February 25.

“My teammates push me every day and they encourage me and I am so happy to have them.”

Like Williams, young Blake was pleased with pleased with the outcome.

“My training has been going good so far because I am healthy and I am ready," Blake said. "I have been putting in work and so I was expected to go out there, deliver, and that is what I did tonight.”

Williams, 19, who set a new national U20 record of 11.01 on Sunday, clocked a new personal best of 10.98, despite a poor start to record her second win in as many days.

Mikiah Brisco finished second in 11.09 with Dezerea Bryant finishing third in 11.14.

Williams had given a hint of what to expect in the preliminary round when she ran 10.97 to win her heat. However, the trailing wind of 2.5m/s prevented that time from being recognized as the Jamaican national U20 record.

In the final, the wind was only 1.0 m/s well below the allowable limit of 2.0m/s.

Earlier, Yohan Blake was second in the 100m clocking 10.09s as he trailed the USA’s Ronnie Baker across the line. The American clocked 9.99.

Marvin Bracy-William was third in 10.11.

Williams wasn’t the only Jamaican with a new personal best Monday night, as promising sprint hurdler Britanny Anderson clocked 12.59 to win the 100m hurdles. It was almost a duplicate of the 12.58 lifetime best she ran in the preliminary round, except for the poor start in the final where she defeated Christina Clemons, who clocked 12.64 for second place narrowly edging 2015 World Champion Danielle Williams who ran 12.65 for third.

Earlier, Javon Francis won his 400m race in 45.84. Quintaveon Poole was second in 45.87 and Myles Pringle third in 46.11.

The BVI’s Ashley Kelly won her 400m in 54.86 over Belize’s Samantha Dirks 55.01 and Canada's Carline Muir 55.48.

Shamier Little won the 400m hurdles in a world-leading 53.12 beating Jamaica’s Ronda Whyte, who ran a season-best 54.33 for the runner-up spot. Her compatriot Shiann Salmon, also ran a personal best of 54.97 for third.

Blake, the second fastest Jamaican ever,  will be Jamaica's sole competitor in the Men's 60m while Forbes and Briana Williams will contest the 60m dash.

Olympic bronze medalist Megan Tapper is the lone female in the 60m hurdles. Tyler Mason and Damion Thomas will go in the men's event. Giano Thomas is named as the reserve.

Meanwhile, Stacey-Ann Williams and Charokee Young will take on the world's best in the Women's 400m. Rusheen McDonald will run the two-lapper for the men.

Williams and Young are also named among the relay squad that includes Junelle Bromfield, Stephenie-Ann McPherson, Andrenette Knight, Leah Anderson and Lanae-Tava Thomas.

In the field, Carey McLeod and Tajay Gayle have been selected to contest the long jump competition with Kimberly Williams will take on the triple jump.

Daniniel Thomas-Dodd and Rajindra Campbell will throw the shot put.

Former JAAA president Dr Warren Blake is the team manager with Maurice Wilson being the Technical Director.

Wilson will have on his coaching staff Reynaldo Walcott, Paul Francis, Orville Byfield and Mark Elliott.

After a successful indoor season during which she ran a new lifetime best of 7.04 while finishing fifth in the 60m final at the World Indoor Championships in Serbia in March, Williams and her coach Ato Boldon turned their attention to preparing to compete in Jamaica’s National Senior Championships at the end of June with the intention of making Jamaica’s team to the World Athletics Championships at Hayward Field in Eugene in July.

Apparently, the heavy workload had taken its toll and Williams, who won gold in the 4x100m relay at the Tokyo Olympics last summer, was clearly not at her best. Following the run in Oregon, social media blew up with toxic narratives. She was not progressing fast enough. She needs to leave Boldon. Other Jamaican women had surpassed her now.

Those criticisms stung and were partly behind her decision to travel to Jamaica to compete at the JAAA/SDF Jubilee Meet at Jamaica College in Kingston on Saturday. There, she ran a wind-assisted 10.91 (3.4m/s) in the preliminary round and then returned for the final where she ran a season's best 10.98 which went a long way toward silencing the armchair coaches.

“I definitely did,” said Williams while speaking with Sportsmax.TV after her triumphant performance on Saturday night.

“We don’t always have perfect races. Last week (Oregon) wasn’t my best. I wasn’t feeling my best but I am glad I got this meet in, was able to have a prelim and a final and finish healthy with a new season’s best.”

In truth, following her performance at the Prefontaine Classic when she clocked a relatively pedestrian 11.20, Williams did begin to doubt herself. However, those doubts were quickly extinguished by Coach Boldon.

“Well, I only had Prefontaine that was really bad. After the race, I was like ‘Oh My God, what’s going on? I am putting in the work’, but my coach said just trust the process. The work is there in training; you just have to wait. Everyone has their time, and we will not always have the best races,” she said.

“I would love for people to actually understand that we’re human beings and we’re athletes and we go through a lot and one bad race, we bounce back into a good race and we move forward.”

In fact, Williams believes that despite what the naysayers believe, she has been having a really good season.

“This season has been going well so far, especially indoors, my first full season indoors, 7.04. No one at 19 has done that and just to be the youngest at the World Indoor Championships and to place fifth really meant a lot,” she said.

“After indoors I went straight into training, heavy training, and I think that was where I was feeling it, at Prefontaine.”

Now with that disappointing performance clearly behind her, Williams is now firmly focused on being at her best for Jamaica’s National Senior Championships from June 23-26, when she will face off against some of the fastest women in the world with the aim of booking a ticket to Oregon in July.

To do that she will face as deep a field as she has ever faced in Jamaica. In addition to the usual suspects, Elaine Thompson-Herah, Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce, who will compete despite having a bye to Oregon as the defending 100m champion and Shericka Jackson, Williams will come up against an in-form Kevona Davis, Natasha Morrison, Remona Burchell, Natalliah Whyte, Kemba Nelson and Shockoria Wallace all of whom have been having strong seasons.

Notwithstanding the depth of talent, the Olympic gold medallist said nothing will change in how she prepares for the fierce battles ahead.

“Never, it is always the same. It is always a hot field and I always perform my best when the time is right,” she said.

“I know that trials will be hard. Everyone is running fast. That is how it’s supposed to be. I am looking forward to trials.”

The sprinter from St Lucia won the NCAA indoor title last year in a North American record of 6.94, just 0.02 shy of the long-standing world record. She also won the NCAA indoor 200m title in 22.01, which also moved her to second on the world indoor all-time list.

Outdoors, she went undefeated at 100m from April to August. Her first and only loss of the year came in the World Championships final, where she placed fifth. She went one better in the 200m, finishing fourth.

Alfred will take on a strong field that includes 2019 world 200m champion Dina Asher-Smith. The 28-year-old holds British records for 60m, 100m and 200m, and owns eight global medals as well as seven continental medals, four of them gold.

“The Millrose Games is one of the most prestigious and historic indoor competitions in the USA, and I am looking forward to racing there for the first time,” said Asher-Smith, who recently relocated to the US. “I am really enjoying my new training set up in Austin, and I’m looking forward to a big year in 2024.”

USA’s 2016 Olympic 4x100m champion English Gardner, winner of the 60m at the Millrose Games in 2019, will also be in the line-up, so too will Jamaica’s Briana Williams, who won Olympic 4x100m gold in 2021.

World indoor bronze medallist Marybeth Sant-Price, 2023 Millrose runner-up Tamari Davis, 2016 Olympic 4x100m silver medallist Shashalee Forbes and NACAC silver medallist Celera Barnes.

Williams, who was selected on Jamaica’s team for the 60m, started her season on January 14 at the Purple Tiger meet in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, with times of 7.20 in the preliminaries and 7.18 in the final.

On January 29^th, the Olympic 4x100m relay gold medallist ran 7.22 to finish fourth at the Millrose Games in New York. She returned to New York a week later at the New Balance Indoor Grand Prix running 7.09 in the preliminaries, a personal best, and 7.11 in the final.

“The Briana that ran 7.19 in January and 7.09 in February has improved steadily and I think she’s ready to be a factor in Serbia,” Boldon, the four-time Olympic and two-time World Championship medallist, said in an interview with Sportsmax.Tv.

“Is there another 60m PR coming? I believe so. That’s why we are going,” he added.

The World Indoor Championships will be held from Friday, March 18-Sunday, March 20 in Belgrade, Serbia.

Ewa Swoboda (6.99), Marybeth Sant-Price (7.04), Mujinga Kambundji (7.05), and Mikiah Briscoe (7.07) are the only participants that have gone faster than Williams this season.

Bolt, the eight-time Olympic gold medalist and an 11-time World Champion, owns the world records for 100m (9.58), 200m (19.19) and the 4x100 meters relay (36.84).

The Miramar Invitational (Saturday, April 9, 2022), the Coach O Invitational (Saturday, June 11, 2022) and the NACAC New Life Invitational (Sunday, June 12, 2022) will be held at the complex where the city will pay tribute to the Jamaican and global sprint icon, Miramar Commissioner Alexandra Davis announced via a public statement on Tuesday.

“Artist Basil Watson has been commissioned to create the sculpture in Usain Bolt’s iconic “TO THE WORLD” pose from a position of kneeling on one knee,” Davis said.

 “I proposed the Art in Public Places ordinance to be able to promote art throughout the City.  The sculpture of the international and world-renowned track and field athlete will be funded in part by the Art in Public Places Fund as well as the Art in the Parks capital project.

“It will spur on economic development and serve as an inspiration for up-and-coming athletes of all ages and backgrounds.”

The monument is expected to be ready to be mounted by October 2022.

In 2021, the Ansin Sports Complex hosted two track meets that attracted hundreds of international athletes, more than 5,000 spectators and 30,000 international viewers via live stream.

At the Miramar Invitational that was held on Saturday, April 10, 2021, more than 160 international athletes including Justin Gatlin, Mike Rodgers, Ajee Wilson, Natoya Goule and Grant Holloway.

Akeem Bloomfield, Briana Williams, English Gardner, Kahmari Montgomery, Mike Rodgers, Kendra Harrison, Wil London and Elaine Thompson also participated at the meet.

It was also at that meet that Sha’Carri Richardson set a lifetime best 10.72 seconds to win the 100m. The performance moved her to the sixth all-time in the 100m.

On Saturday, June 5, 2021, the NACAC New Life Invitational- World Athletics featured approximately 200 international athletes, of which over 100 were Olympic qualifying athletes including Zachary Campbell, Jeims Molina and Kaden Cartwright.

It was there that Williams broke her national U20 record running 10.93 seconds before going on to become the youngest Jamaican to win an Olympic gold medal as a member of Jamaica’s 4x100m relay team in Tokyo.

The USA’s Trayvon Bromell also set his personal best and world-leading time of 9.77 seconds at this event.

“We were so thrilled to have welcomed these talented athletes and have them take advantage of the world-class amenities including the FTX Mondo Olympic track at Ansin Sports Complex. We look forward to hosting more international track and field competitions in 2022,” said Davis.

Over his 40-year career, Watson has completed major works in Guatemala, China, Jamaica, and the U.S.  Some of his major commissions include “Ring of Life” in London, “Martin Luther King” in Atlanta and “Cradle-The Future in our Hands” in Fulton County, Georgia.

The 20-year-old star will join Michael Frater and Gregory Little at the Kingston-based Titans International Track Club with the blessing of her now former coach and mentor Ato Boldon. She retains her agent HSI Sports and managers LEEP Marketing.

“Briana, by her own admission, has grown comfortable over the last season and needs to be more challenged, so with my blessing and encouragement, she’ll be joining Michael Frater and Gregory Little’s group,” Boldon said.

“From the beginning, she and I knew I’d have to hand her off to someone who could coach her full time and as she turns 21 soon, now is the time.

This is the next chapter in her development and I’ll continue to advise and guide her, as I have since she was 10.”

Boldon has been Williams’ mentor and coach for the past decade. During that time, she ran a World U15 age-group 100m record of 11.13 in 2018.

That same year, she won three gold medals -100m, 200m and 4x100m - in the U17 category at the Carifta Games and was named winner of the coveted Austin Sealy Award.

Later that year, at age 16 and competing at the U20 World Championships in Tampere, Finland, Williams won the 100m in 11.16 before setting a new national U20 record of 22.50 while winning the 200m.

In doing so, she broke the previous U20 championship record of 22.53 held by the Bahamian Anthonique Strachan.

Williams won three more gold medals at the 2019 Carifta Games.

But according to the young star, it was time for a change.

“I'm excited about this new chapter and happy to be training in Jamaica,” said Williams.

“I have to thank Coach Ato for how much he has done for me and my career so far. He will always be a father figure to me.”

Titans International boasts an impressive roster that includes Yohan Blake, the 2011 World 100m champion and second-fastest man of all time, and Akeem Blake, the 2022 NACAC 100m champion, who was also a semi-finalist in the 100m at the 2022 World Championships in Eugene, Oregon.

Under the guidance of Frater and Little, Kemar Bailey-Cole, the 2014 Commonwealth Games 100m champion, has been resurrected after years of injury and illness threatened to end his once-promising career.

Williams, a Nike athlete, is a Digicel Brand Ambassador and a Brand Ambassador for Grace Foods.

Correction: In the original story published we mentioned that at the World U20 Championships in Tampere, Finland, Briana Williams broke the championship record held by Veronica Campbell Brown. That was incorrect. The record of 22.53 was held by Anthonique Strachan of the Bahamas. Strachan set the record at the 2012 championships.

Expressing her enthusiasm for this new chapter in her career, Williams remarked, "I'm excited to join a new team and work with coaches who will help me reach my full potential. I've achieved a lot so far, but I know I can do even better with the right support and training. I'm looking forward to pushing myself and seeing how far I can go."

She expressed her gratitude to her previous coach Michael Frater stating, "I am extremely grateful to Coach Frater for the work he has done to help my progress so far this season and I wish him and the members of the Dynamic Athletics team the very best going forward.”

 Williams' decision to join Coach John Smith's training group is regarded as a strategic step towards realizing her long-term goals, which include vying for gold at future Olympics and World Championships. With her exceptional talent, experience, and unwavering determination, Williams is poised to leave an indelible mark in the world of track and field.

 As one of the most promising young sprinters globally, Williams has already established herself as a formidable force on the international stage. Her stellar performances have earned her recognition among the sport's elite, inspiring fans and fellow athletes alike with her dedication to excellence.

 With access to top-notch coaching and resources within her new training group, Williams is poised to refine her technique and elevate her performance to unprecedented heights. Her decision underscores her unwavering commitment to excellence and her relentless pursuit of greatness in the sport of track and field.

Smith has coach an impressive list of athletes in his career that has spanned decades. Among the luminaries he has coached are Ato Boldon (Williams' former coach), Olympic champion Maurice Greene, World champion Carmelita Jeter and Olympic champion Marie Jose Perec. He also conditions Marie Josee Ta Lou of the Ivory Coast.

Late last year, Williams, who celebrated her 18^th birthday on March 21, 2020, signalled her arrival among the professional ranks when she signed a multi-year professional contract with Nike.

It was just two years ago, in mid- March of 2018, that Williams signalled to the world that she was on her way when she set the 100m world age-group record for 15-year-old girls of 11.13 at the Bob Hayes Classic in Jacksonville, Florida.

Mere weeks later, she won three gold medals at the Carifta Games and claimed the coveted Austin Sealy Award as the most outstanding athlete of the meet.

However, it was the summer of 2018 that she demonstrated the immense depth of her talent when at the age of 16 she defied the odds to win the 100m and 200m titles at the World U20 Championships in Tampere, Finland.

The year 2019 was to prove as successful even though there would be a bump in the road.

At what would be her final Carifta Games, Williams repeated her exploits of 2018 and won the Austin Sealy Award for a second time.

She would go on to win the NACAC U18 100m title as well as the Pan Am U20 title and set a World U18 record of 10.94s when she finished third at the Jamaican national championships in June beaten only by world-leading times of 10.73s run by Olympic champions Elaine Thompson and Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce.

However, the 10.94 was erased after she failed a drug test having ingested Pharma Cold and Flu tablets tainted with the diuretic hydrochlorothiazide (HCTZ). She was reprimanded by a Jamaica Anti-Doping Disciplinary Panel and missed a chance to compete at the World Championships in Doha, Qatar.

It turned out to be a pit stop in her burgeoning career as greater things clearly await.

But, what is it like for her coach, shaping the future of a confident but headstrong 18-year-old?

Boldon shed some light on their relationship, first revealing that he did not start out intending to coach a then precocious 11-year-old Williams.

“I wasn’t really thinking about coaching her. I was more fundraiser in chief when it came time to find the money for her summer meets. Whatever shortfall she had after we did her go fund me, I made up,” he said.

Having ended up coaching her, Boldon said they now share a solid and fruitful connection.

“The relationship really is a good one. I think Briana and I know each other very well. I have to deal with the fact that she is a headstrong teen, she has to deal with the fact that my patience is about a quarter-of-an-inch long. I notice now when I go off on her over something, her attitude is “ok here he goes, he’ll be ok once he’s done," he said, explaining why he believes they are perfect for each other.

“Briana and I are both very interested in history. That’s why it works. It also works because she trusts me implicitly. The last three seasons have gone exactly as I told her they would in terms of times and performances.

“I’d like to think she’s inherited her sense of history from me. If it’s been done before, I am not really interested in it. I want her to blaze new trails and create history. I’m not sure she felt that way before. Her age-group world record in 2018 changed that. Hearing “Fastest 15-year-old girl ever” changed her mind quickly.”

It has not all been smooth sailing, however. After all, Briana is still a teenager.

“Briana is very headstrong. That’s not necessarily a bad thing. I tell people all the time, go look at the Kentucky Derby. You’ll see a horse that refuses to get in that starting gate. He’s not interested, won't conform, doesn’t care if the world is waiting,” he said.

“Briana can be like that, and I don’t like to be challenged when I’m coaching so it leads to some interesting interactions between us. Being headstrong I think is a trait of most great sprinters, so I’d never try to kill that part of her.”

There is a method, though, to getting the best from her.

“Once Briana sees results, she’ll do exactly what you want - and ask for more. There are workouts in 2018-2019 that I wanted to use sparingly because she’s 16 (now 17) and she’s like "coach we haven't done Workout X in a while…why not…?” and you realize “oh, she understands what that will do for her, she’s not afraid of the pain and she’s not going to avoid doing it again either."

Boldon, the first world junior champion to become a world champion at the senior level, said Williams is chest-deep in talent.

 “Briana has natural gifts that I’ve never seen. I've never seen someone at her age start like that. When it’s a big occasion, her start never deserts her. World under-20 final 100m, Jamaican Nationals 2019, 100m. I had pro sprinters in my camp that she could hold her own with - at age 14,” he said.

“I had to completely revamp her strength training this season because she can lift whatever I throw at her, but I will need that in her 20s and 30s. I can get around doing that stuff now. From hip to knee, she’s a beast. Grown men see her doing Olympic lifts in the gym and can't believe it. Much of speed is about strength to weight. She only weighs 125lb, but for her size, she’s extremely strong.”

He said he has no real issues in keeping her motivated, a critical component of her achieving greatness as she transitions to the senior ranks.

“She’s very motivated on her own. She doesn’t need me for that - until it’s something she hasn’t thought of. She knew she wanted to win World under 20s in the 100m in 2018 - even though she was only 16,” he said.

“I knew she could win both. She had to be convinced about the 200m. In 2018, people online were trying to tell her that she shouldn't be running with pros e.g. at Racers Grand Prix. Maybe she believed some of them. I convinced her otherwise. I don’t have to convince her much anymore.”

The Covid-19 pandemic will slow Briana Williams in 2020 as the 2020 Tokyo Olympics might be postponed until 2021. However, all that would do is delay the inevitable rise of the next female star of track and field.

In cool, wet conditions and with a headwind of -1.1m/s Williams burned up the track to a comfortable win ahead of Sprintec’s Natasha Morrison, who crossed the finish line in 7.24s. Jodean Williams of the University of the West Indies finished third overall in 7.36.

Williams, who revealed afterwards that she has been working on her finish, was pretty satisfied with her performance that excited the small crowd that witnessed the performance.

She said she always enjoys competing in Kingston.

“There is more excitement here. The crowd is amazing. They are really happy I am here and I am happy I am here,” she said.

Williams competes next at the Millrose Games at the Armoury in New York on February 8.

Williams encountered a challenging season in 2023, contending with injuries after transitioning from Coach Ato Boldon in Miramar, Florida to Titans International in Jamaica, where she was coached by Gregory Little and Michael Frater. Following the split of her coaches late in 2023, Williams continued under Coach Frater until making the decision to join Coach John Smith's program in March this year.

Smith, who currently coaches Marie Jose Ta Lou Smith, the fastest woman from Africa and a two-time World Championship silver medalist, brings a wealth of expertise to Williams' training regimen. Ta Lou Smith provided a glimpse of what Williams could become by winning the 100m in 10.91 at the Jamaica Athletics Invitational, where Williams achieved a season's best of 11.39, finishing seventh.

The time reflected a significant improvement on her 11.54 season opener at the Occidental Invitational in Los Angeles just over a week ago.

Reflecting on her transition to Coach Smith's program, Williams emphasized her commitment to the process and the progress she's making.

"Training, I am taking it day by day. I’m learning new things; it’s a new program so I’m getting adjusted every day, loving the progress," Williams shared post-race. "I’m just taking my time, we have six weeks to go to trials so I want to get everything in, start running every week, and just getting race ready, taking it one day at a time to prepare and make the team."

Williams also highlighted the positive impact of training alongside Marie Jose Ta Lou Smith and the supportive group dynamics.

"It’s the best. I have a great group, great training, great coach. Marie, I learn so much from her and I really appreciate her as a teammate and all the rest of my teammates, and I really do adore the group," Williams commented on her training environment.

Regarding the transition to Coach John Smith, who was once the coach of her former mentor Ato Boldon, Williams expressed enthusiasm for the training regimen and the mentorship she receives.

"It’s amazing! The workouts are not too different. John is like the guru of track and field, so it’s really great learning from him and I learn a lot from him; he makes me strong mentally and physically as well," Williams remarked.

Despite the recent race result, Williams remains focused on the journey ahead, acknowledging the challenges of adapting to a new program mid-season.

"It wasn’t my best race, but I was just working on the things that I need to work on. Getting into a new program in the middle of the season is not easy but it’s what’s best for me right now so I am just taking it one race at a time," she concluded.

The 22-year-old Williams is expecting to be racing over 200m next week in Los Angeles.

She has now added a new title; homeowner.

The 18-year-old university student acquired the keys to her home in Florida and she couldn’t be happier. She showed off her new home on social media saying “Praise God from whom all blessings flow!”

The excitement was still palpable when she spoke with Sportsmax.TV

“Purchasing my first house was a dream come true for me, especially at 18 you don’t see that much,” she said.

“I’m so happy and excited about this big step I took. This is what I couldn’t wait for! It was a long process but I enjoyed and learned a lot from it.”

After an outstanding year in 2019, when she won many titles and set a new Jamaica U20 record, Williams signed a multi-year deal with Nike in January. She has recently began training in anticipation of making Jamaica’s team to the Tokyo, Olympics in Japan next summer.

 At 4 pm Eastern, the 18-year-old Jamaican track star will participate in the graduation ceremony at Northeastern High, her final act as a student there before moving on to college to study communication.

Her time in high school was memorable. It was in early March 2018, that she gained national attention in Jamaica when became the fastest 15-year-old girl in history over 100 metres mere weeks before her 16^th birthday.

Over the next two years, she would go on to win six Carifta Games gold medals, two Austin Sealy Awards, two World U20 gold medals, a Pan Am U20 100m gold medal, and a NACAC U18 100m gold medal while representing the country of her mother’s birth. She also set a new national U20 record along the way.

Briana was not only a superb athlete she was also a good student who enjoyed the camaraderie of her schoolmates and the respect of her teachers.

“It feels great to complete high school. I will miss all the fun moments I had in high school, especially with my friends and teacher,” she said, explaining that she will miss the debates and conversations with her classmates and the understanding displayed by her teachers who allowed her the time to complete assignments and homework whenever she had to travel to compete.

What she will not miss is the 40-minute commute to school each morning.

“I won’t miss having to go so far, waking up at 6 am each morning,” she said.

Always prepared, Briana is already close to selecting which college she will attend with Broward College, so far, leading the way. However, she reveals that she is still looking around before making a final decision.

“What feels like the end is also the beginning,” she posted on Instagram on Sunday; the end of high school and beginning of a new phase in the life of the talented teen, who earlier this year signed a multi-year deal with Nike.

“I see myself doing well and thriving in my professional career,” she told Sportsmax.TV. Against the backdrop of what we have seen so far, there can be no reason to doubt her.

The 19-year-old Williams, who set a national U20 record when she ran 11.02 in New Mexico in June 2019, clocked 11.01 at the JAC Summer Open, running at what she said was about 95 per cent effort, as she was saving herself for Monday’s races.

If ratified, the time run with a trailing wind of 1.4m/s would eclipse her previous mark from 2019.

A fast time was always on the cards as in the preliminary round, the 2018 World U20 100m champion, cruised to a comfortable victory in 11.19.

“The first, the preliminary, was good; just working on my start, how low I am coming out of my drive phase, and then most importantly, high knees, don’t break form and just run to the line,” she said of her first run since she ran 11.09 and 11.15 at the Miramar South Florida Invitational on May 9.

She revealed that she was still not all out at her 11.01 run as this was the ‘semi-final’ before Monday’s races at Hodges Stadium in North Florida.

“I didn’t want to go all out, that’s for tomorrow. I was about 95 per cent,” she said. “Glad to have run 11.01 not trying too much but giving enough to where I could set a national junior record and it felt great. My form was great. I liked it.”

She said she was expecting tough competition on Monday but she wants to go out get a new personal best and finish healthy.

 It will be the first time the 17-year-old sprinter will race against the decorated American. The stacked field also includes Jamaica’s Trudy Ann Williamson, the USA’s Morolake Akinuson, Hannah Cunliffe, Teahna Daniels, Javianne Oliver, Deajah Stevens and Germany’s Tatjana Pinto.

 “I'm excited about the line-up. I’ve been looking up to Allyson ever since I started track so this is pretty awesome that I get to race against her. She has accomplished so much, especially at a young age,” said Williams who raced to a fast 7.15-second outdoor run in Kingston last month.

 She opened her 2020 season with a personal best 7.25 seconds at the Clemson University's Orange & Purple Elite Invitational on January 4,

 In contrast to Williams’ excitement about racing her idol, Coach Ato Boldon sees this as just another 60m race in William's 2020 preparation.

 "Training has been exceptional so I expect another PR from Briana this weekend. She has run against the two Olympic 100m champions on multiple occasions...she won't be overwhelmed by the spotlight."

The 19-year-old rising star ran a season-best 11.09 in the preliminaries of the 100m and then came back to ruin 11.15 to finish third in the final that was won by the outstanding American Sha Carri Richardson, who clocked 10.77, her third time under 10.8 in as many races this season.

With tired legs, Williams then ran the 200m finishing eighth in 22.96 in the race won by American Gabby Thomas in 22.12, the second-fastest time in the world this year. Allyson Felix ran 22.26 for second place in her season-opener.

Afterwards, Williams let her fans know how she felt about the day’s work.

“What a great day. Feeling like myself again,” she posted on Facebook. “Coach challenged me to run three races in two hours and it went (mostly) well.

“100m heats - an easing-up 11.09 one of my fastest-ever times in just 100m race number two since 2019. 100m final - third place 11.15 into a headwind. 200m final - (22.96w and dead last no legs left ?) but the work was necessary after no indoor season and working around an early-year injury.”

Williams has had a limited number of outings this season. She opened up outdoors with an 11.28 100m at the USATF Grand Prix in Eugene, Oregon on April 24. On that occasion, she just missed out on advancing to the final of the 100m that was won by Nigeria’s Blessing Okagbare in a season-best 10.97.

Williams, 18, who also had an outstanding year in 2019, when she won Pan Am and NACAC 100m titles, she said she is happy and honoured to be the patron of the run that has raised millions of dollars for several worthy causes.

Now in its 23^rd year, the Sagicor Sigma Corporate Run has raised more than $450 million dollars for more than 40 beneficiaries primarily in health and education. Last year, the event raised a record $55.3 million dollars for the Bustamante Hospital for Children, Savanna-la-Mar Hospital and the Clifton Boys Home.

This year, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the run will primarily be virtual with participants running on their own and submitting their times. Sagicor first introduced a virtual run component to the event last year, February for its 22^nd staging.

Williams’ who is a big proponent of giving back, said she is especially happy about the causes that the proceeds from the run will support, and is encouraging everyone to register and donate.  

“Being a part of this initiative, this year is very special, as it gives me a chance to take part in such a meaningful cause, that gives back, while also promoting health and fitness. While things are different this year, I want to encourage everyone to participate and run your own race to support the cause,” Williams said. 

Williams is the World Age-15 Record Holder over 100-metre and the Jamaican Junior Under 20 Record Holder in both the 100 and 200-metre sprint. She won three gold medals in the 2018 and 2019 CARIFTA Games, respectively, winning the coveted Austin Sealy on both occasions.

In doing so, she became the first Jamaican athlete to achieve the feat since track legend Usain Bolt in 2004.

Williams also took home two gold medals in the World U20 Championships in 2018, as well as in the 2019 U20 North American, Central American and Caribbean (NACAC) Championships. She also won a silver medal in the 2019 Pan American U20 Championships. 

She was also nominated for the IAAF Female Rising Star Award and the prestigious Laureus Breakthrough Athlete of the Year Awards.

For information on how to register for the run, donate to the cause or purchase Sigma Run branded items, visit the website at sagiorsigmarun.com; call 876-936-7980-2 or email at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Williams, who will be 20 the day after the end of the championships, is the second-fastest Jamaican woman in the world this year after she ran 7.09 over 60m at the New Balance Grand Prix in New York on February 6.

Only Elaine Thompson-Herah, who ran 7.04 at the ORLEN – Copernicus Cup in Torun, Poland on Tuesday, has run faster than the Florida-based teen, whose coach Ato Boldon, confirmed her availability to Sportsmax.TV.

“It would be easy to say, ‘Well, Euro travel is a hassle’ or ‘Let’s get ready for outdoors’, but a deal is a deal and I told her if she ran 7-oh she could go and she’s not only done that, she’s recaptured some of that 2018/2019 hungry-as-hell-Briana form so I’m eager to see the results of all the work she’s put in,” he said.

Williams began her season in Baton Rouge, Louisiana on January 14 with runs of 7.20/7.18 and then dipped to 7.22 at the Millrose Games in New York on January 29.

She rediscovered her form at the New Balance Grand Prix with 7.09/7.11 clockings that were only surpassed by Thompson-Herah, who ran 7.08 in Birmingham on February 19 and then 7.04 in Torun.

However, based on a post on Instagram on Tuesday following her second-place finish in Torun, her outing in Poland was her last for the indoor season.

“Didn’t win today but super grateful. Everybody’s a work in progress. I’m a work in progress. I am still learning all the time. See y’all outdoors,” she said.

There is also no indication that Olympic 100m bronze medallist Shericka Jackson will be heading to Serbia next month. Jackson is the third-fastest Jamaican woman this year by virtue of her 7.12 run in Fayetteville, Arkansas, on February 11.

“Training has been going well. I’m going to do something I have never done before, compete in December,” she said.

“I am opening my 2020-2021 season next weekend in the Bahamas with a 300m and a 150m on the 18^th and 19^th.”

Like many track and field athletes, Williams was not able to compete much during the last season because of the Covid-19 pandemic that prompted the cancellation of meets around the globe. Training well and eager to compete, Jamaica’s national junior record holder is chomping at the bit says her coach Ato Boldon.

“For the first time Briana is training completely by herself and she is thriving with all my attention. She is about two and a half months in now and this meet presented itself. She wanted to do it and I realize that just in the time when we were thinking about it her training has gone up a notch,” Boldon told Sportsmax.TV, explaining that the 2018 World Under 20 sprint-double champion, trains well when she is getting ready for something.

“She will give a good account of herself and she is very excited about it.”

According to Boldon, Williams will contest the 300m on the Friday and then the 150m the following day.

Yohan Blake and his teammates from Titans International Track Club will also be competing at the meet dubbed the Christmas Classic All-Distance Meet and which is hosted by the Neymour Athletic Club.