Jamaican Olympian Christania Williams made a memorable debut at the IBSF World Championships in Lake Placid, where she and her Austrian driver Katrin Beierl secured a ninth-place finish in the two-woman bobsled event over two days of intense competition.
Although Williams, competing under the Austrian flag, had hoped to finish in the top six, she embraced the experience and took valuable lessons from her first appearance at a world championship event in the sport.
Reflecting on her performance, Williams noted the vast improvement between Friday’s first two heats and Saturday’s final runs.
“The plan for me was to finish top-six. That didn’t happen, but top 10—I’ll take it,” said Williams. “If I should compare today (Saturday) to yesterday (Friday), the ride felt much smoother. Friday was really bumpy and rough, and I can recall having some bad hits. But that’s a part of it. Saturday was way better going down.”
Her driver, Katrin Beierl, also had high expectations for the event but acknowledged the challenges they faced, including significant impacts during their runs, which affected their sled’s speed.
“Katy is pretty strict. She is kind of a perfectionist, she likes things to be done on time, everything in order. She was expecting us to finish in the top six. That didn’t happen, but we are still happy to be in the top 10,” Williams explained.
“She also got a bad hit on the helmet (on Friday). We got a lot of bad hits, and that cut the speed of the sled, so we lost a lot of time. But that’s how the game is. We are happy with the overall ranking. She is happy, I’m happy. This is my first world championship, and I think we did pretty well.”
At the end of the first two heats on Friday, Beierl and Williams sat in eighth place, but they ultimately slipped to ninth after Saturday’s heats. Their combined time of 3:49.28 was 3.28 seconds behind gold medalists Laura Nolte and Deborah Levi of Germany, who finished in 3:46.00.
Still adjusting to the physically demanding nature of bobsledding, Williams was struck by the strength and resilience of the women who compete at the highest level.
“I am just trying to enjoy the journey and the experience. I am still new to it (bobsled), but what I do know is that these ladies are amazing,” she said. “They are strong. The sled is pretty heavy, and sometimes just two of them are lifting, doing all the work of putting it onto the transporter to get it to the track for competition or training. The work that they put in is just amazing to see.
“These ladies are independent, strong, and they really have true passion for what they’re doing. You have to love this sport to do it.”
Williams also revealed the toll that bobsledding has taken on her body, highlighting how physically punishing the sport can be.
“My two knees are swollen, I have bruises everywhere—some of the places I can’t even touch,” she shared. “When I took off my racing suit, there was blood. I tried to use some band-aids, but that didn’t work.”
She likened the experience of being in a bobsled to experiencing severe turbulence on an airplane:
“When you see it on TV, it doesn’t look that bad. But sitting inside going down, it’s like really bad turbulence in a plane. It’s really bumpy and loud, and you have to keep your core tight the whole time because if you get a bad hit, it can really hurt your back.”
Now that she has had a taste of the sport at the world championship level, Williams is already focused on the next steps to improve ahead of the next winter sports season.
“I am the smallest one doing this. I need to gain some weight and get way stronger in the gym,” she explained. “That is the next step going forward—get stronger, become more explosive, and gain some weight heading into next season.”
Despite the bruises and challenges, Williams is embracing the journey of bobsledding and is already thinking about her future in the sport. With focused training, increased strength, and continued experience, she hopes to make even greater strides next season.