Jodie Williams, a teenager from Queenswood school in Hertfordshire, is the latest young female athlete to enjoy a meteoric rise through the ranks, inspired by the feats of double Olympic champion Kelly Homes.

Williams, 14, has never been beaten in her age group, and last weekend in the Winter Open Graded Event in Eton, tested her talent against senior men for the first time over 60 metres. She finished the event in a personal best of 7.45 sec, making her the second-fastest under-15 girl of all time over the distance, behind Katharine Merry, the Sydney Olympic Games 400m bronze medallist.

Williams has drive, talent and determination, and is regarded as a model pupil at Queenswood. No surprise, then, that the year nine pupil, coached by her father and supported to the hilt by her school, has already been earmarked for the UK Athletics World Class Talent programme. Just for fun, Williams also takes part in the long jump as part of her warm-up, and is in the top 10 in the country in her age group, with a personal best of 5.33 m. While Williams is already excelling at 60m, her focus this summer will be the 100m and 200m sprints on the outdoor circuit, with her personal bests being 12.01 sec (although she has run a wind-assisted 11.95 sec) and 24.57 sec respectively. These may be early days, but neophyte sprinter Williams is a name to watch out for, at the London Games in 2012, and beyond.

by Gareth A Davies
The Daily Telegraph, Friday 8 February 2008