by Stuart Weir
Jodie Williams recalls some of her great races
What do you regard as your greatest achievement in the sport?
I’m not sure. I’ve been asked this question a lot, and I’m not sure if I can pinpoint the exact thing. I’d definitely say one of them is just the longevity that I’ve managed to have and to be able to stay making teams for 15 years of being a professional athlete. I made my first team in 2011 (European Indoors), which was also in Paris. So Paris to begin and Paris to end, which was cool. And I will definitely say that both my Commonwealth medals were highlights for me and then making that Olympic Final as well.
2021 Tokyo Olympics sixth in 400m in 49.97 (behind Shaunae Miller-Uibo, Marileidy Paulino and Allyson Felix)
It was a crazy race, a huge race and it was for me just amazing to be in a lane next to these women. Honestly, that race like experience-wise was the most fun I’ve ever had, even though, I wasn’t on the podium. It was just amazing to be there with those women. 2021 was just one of those years and I think any athlete will tell you like sometimes you just have those years where everything is just beautifully aligned and everything just went perfectly for me, like even all the way from medaling indoors against obviously like great calibre athletes and then carrying that momentum outdoors.
That season was just nothing went wrong, which is just like unheard of especially for an athlete like me and there were a lot of near misses. That Olympic final race was just like an affirmation that. OK, we weren’t delusional like, you actually are this good. You do belong racing this calibre of athletes and for me it was just really settled something in my spirit.
Winning gold at World Youth and World Juniors – was that a surprise?
No, I don’t think anything was ever a surprise. Things felt more like a relief at that point in my career. More of a relief of oh, thank God. OK, I managed to pull it off rather than surprise of being up there.
You have done championships at 60, 100, 200, 400. Which event do you think suits you best?
The 200 is has always been my favourite event. I love the 200. Honestly, if my perfect event was a thing, it would be the 300. I’m actually really upset that I never got a good opportunity to run one outdoors because I think I could have run something really fast. So I think the 300 would be my perfect event. The 400 is just a little bit too long for me. Obviously I have run 49.
So I had great potential there, but I think 48 – and that is what it takes – is just was just to stretch too far for me. I don’t think we saw everything I was capable of over the 200. I just never quite got the timing right. But I would definitely say somewhere in between that two and four is definitely a perfect fit for me.
Relays: you looked equally comfortable in the one and the four.
I love doing both of them. I think they’re very, very different events. I love the 4 by 4. It’s always been one of my favourite things. I much prefer a 4 by 4 over individual 400. I love the event. I’ve always loved watching them, even before I would compete in them. I’ve always just thought they were the most exciting event on track. The other 4 by 1 is so technical it gets a little stressful, but definitely equally as comfortable in in both relays.
In 2014, with the two silver medals at 200m, Commonwealth Games and European Championships (and a European 4 by 100 gold).
And that was another year that everything just went according to plan. Every time I raced it was what we had planned out. We timed things really, really well. It was a difficult season. I think those two championships were like 10 days apart and I was running relays as well in those. So just another one of those years where everything just went to plan and my body held up just enough to allow me to get things done.
In 2022, you got the medal in the Commonwealth at the 400 and then we’re fourth in the Europeans, 0.13 from a medal. Half a step or whatever. And a European 4 X 400 bronze medal
That was a very ‘almost’ season. It was very ‘almost’ a replica of 2014. And I do feel like if I’d gotten that medal, that season would have gone down a little bit differently for me, like historically. But I still stood on the podium for the 4 by 4. So that was a very ‘almost’ year for me. And if people had known that nothing went right for me that year training wise, like I really hadn’t done anything.
I hadn’t even managed to run any bends: I was running 100 meters up and back. I couldn’t run around a bend at all. I could barely run most days. So that season was really just pure grit. I had sacrificed going to the World Championships to try and pull off some of the later champs. And on paper, I wasn’t even in the discussion leading up to it and for me that season was just pure grit and experience. Just knowing how championships can often unfold and using the mental side to my advantage.
in 2019. You ran 11.17 (100) which was a pretty good time at that stage. Do you ever wonder what you might have run with the new shoes with the new tracks and all the improved science?
For sure. I think I ran like an 11.20 this year with like really no speed training, no 100m training at all. So I definitely do wonder. I’ve always loved the 100. I did want to go back and give one year to the 100 meters and just see where I could be. I believe I can run sub 11. I just don’t believe I can challenge the top runners. I think I could definitely pull out like a 10.99, but I don’t see myself. I never saw myself making finals or anything like that over the 100 metres, but I definitely think I could have run a 10.9 on a one off in perfect conditions. I definitely have it in me for sure.
