After six years and 151 races, Jodie Williams' winning streak comes to an end in the 200m as she settles for silver (© Getty Images)
Everything must come to an end. Even Jodie Williams’ phenomenal 150 race win streak that dated well over four years.
That streak came to an end when American Stormy Kendrick produced a life time best 22.99 seconds to hold off the Briton in the 200m final on Friday evening.
Williams’ silver medal performance of 23.19 seconds was just not good enough on the day and she was magnanimous in defeat, congratulating Kendrick at a press conference minutes after the race, giving the American her props.
When asked about the streak, the poised 16 year-old said she knew it had to end some day “and today was the day.”
But while the streak was still intact, Williams was the queen of her domain and all who dared to line up against her.
After taking the double in Bressanone last year, she added the World Junior gold on Wednesday when she sped to a decent 11.40 seconds to win the IAAF World Junior Championships 100m, beating a quality field that included the Americans Takeia Pinckney who was second and Ashton Purvis as well as Jamile Samuel of the Netherlands who was third.
On Wednesday, Williams had admitted she knew the race would be tough, “I knew I had to get a good start as the two Americans are always there at the end of the race.”
While admitting she was “shocked” at winning she said her unbeaten run for so long had helped to boost her confidence
What does this mean for her to win the World Junior 100m title, “A step from the seniors and a great achievement.”
She still has a way to go before she gets to the seniors however as she will still be eligible for the 14th World Juniors in Barcelona, Spain in two years and will be terrorising the Junior ranks for years to come.
Paul Reid for the IAAF
