Jodie Williams facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
Jodie Williams

Williams at the 2022 European Athletics Championships
Personal information
Born	(1993-09-28) 28 September 1993 (age 31) Welwyn Garden City, Hertfordshire, England
Height	1.74 m
Weight	60 kg
Sport
Country	Great Britain & N.I. England
Sport	Women's athletics
Event(s)	100 metres, 200 metres, 400 metres
Club	Herts Phoenix AC
Achievements and titles
Personal best(s)	100 m: 11.17 (Lubbock, 2019) 200 m: 22.46 (Zürich, 2014) 400 m: 49.97 (Tokyo, 2021)
Medal record Women's athletics Representing  Great Britain Olympic Games Bronze 2024 Paris 4 × 400 m relay European Championships Gold 2014 Zürich 4 × 100 m relay Silver 2014 Zürich 200 m Bronze 2022 Munich 4 × 400 m relay European Indoor Championships Silver 2021 Toruń 4 × 400 m relay Bronze 2021 Toruń 400 m World Junior Championships Gold 2010 Moncton 100 m Silver 2010 Moncton 200 m World Youth Championships Gold 2009 Brixen 100 m Gold 2009 Brixen 200 m European U23 Championships Gold 2013 Tampere 200 m Silver 2013 Tampere 100 m Silver 2013 Tampere 4 × 100 m relay European Junior Championships Gold 2011 Tallinn 100 m Gold 2011 Tallinn 200 m Bronze 2011 Tallinn 4 × 100 m relay Representing  England Commonwealth Games Silver 2014 Glasgow 200 m Bronze 2014 Glasgow 4 × 100 m relay Bronze 2022 Birmingham 400 m

Jodie Alicia Williams is a famous British sprinter who was born on September 28, 1993. She recently retired from professional athletics in October 2024. Jodie started her career focusing on shorter races like the 100 metres and 200 metres. Later, she became a specialist in the 400 metres.

As a young athlete, Jodie was incredibly talented. She won many major championships for young people. This included being the World Youth Champion in both 100 and 200 metres in 2009. She also became the World Junior Champion in the 100 metres in 2010. In 2011, she was the European Junior Champion for both 100 and 200 metres. Then, in 2013, she won the European Under-23 Championship in the 200 metres.

Jodie had an amazing streak of 151 races where she was unbeaten in sprints. This winning run lasted for five years, from 2005 until July 2010. She holds British youth records for the 60 metres, 100 metres, and 200 metres. When she was just sixteen, she was the top-ranked British woman in the 200 metres.

After some tough times with injuries, Jodie started winning senior medals in 2014. She won a bronze medal in the 4 × 100 metres relay and a silver in the 200 metres at the 2014 Commonwealth Games. Soon after, she won another silver medal in the 200 metres at the 2014 European Athletics Championships. She also earned her first senior gold medal as part of the Great Britain relay team. This team even set a new British Record in the 4 × 100 metres relay.

More injuries slowed her down as she switched to the longer 400-metre sprint. However, she still won several British championships between 2014 and 2021. In 2021, her hard work paid off. She won an individual bronze medal in the 400 metres at the 2021 European Athletics Indoor Championships, plus a silver in the relay. At the 2022 European Athletics Championships, she helped the British 4 × 400 metres relay team run the second-fastest time ever for a British women's team. Jodie also won a bronze medal at the 2022 Commonwealth Games, which was her last big international medal.

In 2024, at 30 years old, Jodie was chosen for her third Olympic Games. She competed only in relays. She finally won her first senior global medal, an Olympic bronze, as part of the Great Britain women's 4 × 400 metres relay team at the 2024 Summer Olympics. Four months later, with nine international medals and four British national titles, Jodie announced she was retiring from elite athletics.

Early Life and Inspiration

Jodie Williams was born in Welwyn Garden City, Hertfordshire, England. Her father, Richard Williams, is English. Her mother, Christine Williams, is English with family roots in Trinidad and Saint Vincent and the Grenadines. Both of Jodie's parents were sprinters at a county level. Her father ran for Hertfordshire, and her mother ran for Sussex. Jodie also has two younger siblings, a brother named Ben and a sister named Hannah, who is also an athlete.

Jodie started taking athletics seriously when she was 13 years old. She went to Heath Mount School and Queenswood School in Hertfordshire. Later, she attended Dame Alice Owen's School.

Many people in the athletics world have praised Jodie. Charles Van Commenee, a former coach for UK Athletics, called her "the sort of athlete every country is waiting for." Even famous American sprinter Allyson Felix said, "I think Jodie has great potential. She's young but she can still accomplish a lot of things."

Becoming a World Youth Champion

In 2009, Jodie won the England Athletics Under-20 Championships in the 100 metres. Her time was 11.48 seconds. After that, she went to Brixen, Italy, for the World Youth Championships. She competed in both the 100 metres and 200 metres.

In the 100 metres semi-final, she ran 11.40 seconds, which was the fastest time for a youth athlete in the world that year. In the final, she ran even faster, at 11.39 seconds, to win her first world title. She beat other strong runners like Ashton Purvis. In the 200 metres final, she set another world-leading time for youth athletes, finishing in 23.08 seconds. This earned her another gold medal. She was the first girl to win both the 100 and 200 metres sprints at this competition.

Junior Success and First Defeat

Jodie started her 2010 season very strongly. At the Loughborough Games, she broke the British junior record for the 200 metres, running 22.79 seconds. A week later, she broke the 100 metres British junior record at the Bedford International Games, with a time of 11.24 seconds. After winning both events at the England Athletics Under-20 Championships, she headed to the 2010 World Junior Championships in Athletics in Moncton, Canada.

Jodie continued her amazing unbeaten streak by winning the 100 metres final in 11.40 seconds. This made it 149 races without a loss! She felt relieved after the race, knowing it was a close one.

The next day, it was the 200 metres. Jodie won her heat and semi-final, being the fastest qualifier. However, in the final, she experienced her first defeat in her athletics career. She came second to American runner Stormy Kendrick. In the 4 × 100 metres relay, the Great Britain team was unfortunately out of the race because of a problem with the baton exchange between Jodie and Rebekah Wilson.

Indoor Racing and European Junior Titles

In 2011, Jodie became the youngest winner of the UK Indoor Championships in the 60 metres. She ran a personal best of 7.24 seconds. This win automatically qualified her for the 2011 European Athletics Indoor Championships in Paris.

In Paris, Jodie ran 7.21 seconds in the 60 metres final, finishing fourth. She missed out on a medal by just 0.01 seconds, but she was still surprised by how well she did.

At the European Athletics Junior Championships, Jodie won the 100 metres. She set a new personal best and championship record of 11.18 seconds. She felt confident, knowing she had trained well. Within 24 hours, she also won the 200 metres in 22.94 seconds, even with a strong headwind. This made her the first British woman to win both sprint events at these championships. To finish the championships, she ran the last part of the 4 × 100 metres relay and won a bronze medal with her teammates.

Overcoming Injuries and Olympic Dreams

In 2012, Jodie ran a season's best of 7.29 seconds in the 60 metres indoors. She was chosen to compete at the IAAF Indoor World Championships in Istanbul, Turkey. She aimed to reach the semi-finals, which she did, finishing 5th in her semi-final.

After the World Indoor Championships, Jodie decided to focus on qualifying for the 100 metres at the London 2012 Olympic Games. She said it had always been her dream to run the 100 metres at the Olympics.

However, during the summer season, Jodie struggled with several injuries. At the Olympic Trials, she pulled her hamstring during the 100 metres final. This injury ended her 2012 season. Jodie later said that this was a "proper setback" and it was hard to watch others compete in the home Olympics. But she reminded herself that she was only 18 and hoped for many more Olympics in the future.

Comeback and Under 23 Champion

After the London Olympics, Jodie's confidence was affected by her injuries. She said she had to learn from her mistakes and move on. In 2013, she focused on getting healthy and did not compete indoors. She started training full-time, which she said helped a lot. Her goal for 2013 was to slowly get back into senior world competitions.

Jodie won both the 100 metres and 200 metres at the England Athletics Under-23 Championships. This qualified her for the European Under-23 Championships in Tampere, Finland.

In Tampere, Jodie continued her comeback. She won her 100 metres heat and semi-final. In the final, she came second, winning a silver medal. In the 200 metres, Jodie won her heat and then ran even faster in the final to claim a gold medal. This was her sixth international title in her age group.

Commonwealth and European Medals

In 2014, Jodie faced more challenges during the indoor season. She had to pull out of the British Athletics 60 metres indoor final after fainting.

However, her outdoor season was much better. In April, she ran a personal best of 22.76 seconds in the 200 metres. This placed her among the top British runners of all time for that distance.

In July 2014, Jodie competed for England at the 2014 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow. She won a silver medal in the 200 metres, which was her first senior medal. She also helped the England 4 × 100 metres relay team win a bronze medal.

In August 2014, Jodie competed at the 2014 European Championships in Zurich. She won a silver medal in the 200 metres, her second individual senior medal in just a few weeks. She also won a gold medal as part of the 4 × 100 metres relay team, which set a new British record.

British Championships Success

Jodie became the British champion in the 200 metres for the second time in 2019. Her sister, Hannah, then won the same title in 2020. In 2021, Jodie achieved a rare feat at the British Championships, winning both the 400 metres and 200 metres titles, bringing her total national titles to four.

Personal Bests

Jodie Williams achieved impressive personal best times in her career:

See also

In Spanish: Jodie Williams para niños