Late Entry Briana Williams Invites 'Challenge' Of 60 Meters At NBNI

By Todd Grasley for DyeStat

January 9th, 2016. 

That’s the first and only time Briana Williams competed in the 60-meter dash indoors. Her time of 8.03 seconds was the 14th-best in the prelims at the LSU High School Classic that day. Fast forward three years, and Williams is now one of the fastest U-20 sprinters in the world.  

Williams, who competes for Jamaica but calls Florida home, struck gold twice at the IAAF World U-20 Outdoor Championships in July in Finland, becoming the youngest athlete ever to pull off the 100/200 sprint double in the meet’s history.

This weekend, she returns to the indoor scene to take on some of the best nation’s best at New Balance Nationals Indoor in New York. The meet wasn’t always on the schedule for Williams and coach Ato Boldon, an Olympic medalist and NBC broadcaster who decided to enter his star pupil in the meet after she came to him last Friday.

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“We entered very late,” Boldon explained. “She just came to me and said she wanted to do it. Usually, we don’t deviate from our season, and almost all of her meets are already planned, with one or two exceptions. But I thought about it and it’s better prep than the dual meet 100-meter race we had planned prior to her 100 debut at Bob Hayes.”

Williams, who is coming off her US#1 and World U-20 #2 200-meter mark of 23.29 set just last weekend, will not run the 200 at nationals, instead opting for the 60. Boldon is not interested in events where she can win by a large margin.

“I want Briana in close races, because I don't care about wins and losses,” he said. “She thought she was going to face Tamari (Davis) as well as the others at 60, and then we found out Tamari was only doing the 200. She hasn’t prepared with an indoor season for this race, and that’s exactly the point. Challenge yourself by going into a meet that if you don’t have a flawless performance, you will lose.”

The junior, who attends Northeast High in Oakland Park, Fla., prides herself on her explosiveness out of the blocks, a trait that has been a large part of her success. Boldon noted that she has worked on start mechanics, but it’s the start rhythm that she needs to hone.

“Start rhythm dictates that you’ll likely start much better in race 10-15 than race 1-5, so going into a short race under-raced is a challenge,” he explained. “That’s what comes with races and she hasn’t had but two. That’s why New York will be a challenge for her.”

It’s hard to predict exactly what she will run, but Williams boasts outdoor bests of 11.13 in the 100 and 22.50 in the 200. Adding her name to the record books isn’t out of the question. The high school national record is 7.15 seconds, set back in 2004, while the World U-20 record is 7.07 seconds. 

“I want her to compete well, and win, lose or draw, be ready for a strong 100 debut, as she had last year in Jacksonville,” Boldon said.