After retiring in 2024, the sprinter reflects on the challenges of becoming a senior athlete and why he wants to help the next generation navigate that path.
For as long as Jodie Williams can remember, running has been her world. She laced up her shoes for the first time at the age of 11 and, as she says, “just fell into it.” What started as a casual hobby soon turned into an obsession that would propel her to the top of the athletics world. After a 19-year career marked by international success and her fair share of challenges, however, the three-time Olympian is now retiring from the sport that shaped her life.
His rise was rapid.As a junior, Williams broke national age records in the under-15 100m (11.56) and the under-17 100m (11.24) and 200m (22.79). won 100m and 200m gold at the World Junior Championships, followed by gold and silver at the World Junior Championships.
When she became European junior champion in 2011, Williams firmly established herself as a force to be reckoned with in the athletics world, but that environment did not blend seamlessly with life away from the track.
While still at school and under the pressure of exams, he managed the demands of being a world champion. His success came at a price that was not always easy to bear.
“I never felt like I could relate to people my age,” says the 31-year-old. “I would keep athletics very different from everything else.”
Despite her athletic achievements, there was an almost awkward feeling about sharing them. “I wanted to keep quiet because I was weirdly ashamed of it,” she says. “I wanted to be a normal girl, and it was really hard to navigate.
“Sometimes I would disappear during the summer and try not to tell anyone why, but people would see the news articles or sometimes film crews would come to the school.
“My name had already preceded me before anyone had a chance to know me. I was a kid who didn’t want to be seen, so it was really hard to draw extra attention to myself. I was already a very awkward and awkward teenager, and It was a really difficult time in my life. The hardest part was trying to stay normal.”
Jody Williams
That sense of inadequacy only intensified as Williams progressed through the junior ranks.At just 18, she had her sights set on her first Olympic Games in London, although an injury during the trials meant she had to wait until Rio 2016 to make her Games debut. :
“The experience of making the Olympic team and moving up to the senior position was very overwhelming,” he adds.
That step into adulthood is one that many young athletes struggle with, especially women, who face unique challenges.
“As young girls, we develop at different times, and some girls are much earlier in their development than others,” says Williams.
“You’re younger competing against older women at that age who have a lot more knowledge, training and wisdom than you, and it’s hard to break into that.
“That phase is really difficult, but it’s a big learning curve. I’ve always looked at the older women and how they navigate it. Everyone at the top level is exceptional at what they do, and the pitch is ultimately one comes out small.”
But Williams wasn’t just another statistic. Instead of losing in the sport, she progressed with vigor and determination. Her first international appearance at the 2011 European Indoor Championships, where she finished fourth in the 60m, was a sign of things to come.
Jody Williams (Mark Shearman)
In 2014, he won his first senior medals, a European 4x100m gold and a 200m silver, adding to the Commonwealth 200m silver secured in Glasgow earlier that year. Another Commonwealth medal, this time over 400m in Birmingham, followed in 2022.
The honor underscored Williams’ ability to adapt. In 2019, after years of excelling in the 100m and 200m, he decided to switch to the single lap event, a bold move that, at the time, seemed like a risky departure from the distances he after it became clear in practice that he had the engine to compete in one lap, however, it was a good move.
“I’ve always known I was made for the 400m, but I’m a very passionate person and I’m going to go to an event that I love,” Williams said. “The 200m has always been my absolute passion, so I always go for it I chased.
“I never had an interest in running the 400m, although I knew I had a talent for it. I had been doing it for a few years before the pandemic. I was getting disillusioned with the sport and felt that if I didn’t try something new, I might I won’t be playing sports for long. I thought it would turn things around for me, and it sure did.”
The decision paid off as she reached the Olympic finals in Tokyo 2021 and helped Great Britain secure a bronze medal in the women’s 4x400m at the Paris Olympics this summer. After years of hard work, personal growth and overcoming self-doubt, Williams ended her career as many athletes dreamed of on the Olympic podium.
» This is an abridged version of a longer feature that appears in the December issue of AW Magazine Subscribe to AW Magazine herecheck out our new podcast! here or subscribe to our digital archive of back issues from 1945 to the present day here
