It’s like letting your daughter go – Boldon

WHEN I heard that young sprinter Briana Williams was leaving her long-time coach Ato Boldon, the news made me lean back in my chair.

The partnership positioned her for a glittering sprint double at the World Under-20 Championship in 2018. Last year, she started Jamaica’s run for gold in the Olympic 4x100 final off her personal best of 10.97 seconds.

This year, Williams has improved. She lowered her indoor 60-metre best from 7.18 seconds in 2018 to 7.09, 7.06 and 7.04 in fifth position in the World Indoor Championships. Outdoors, she fashioned five sub-11 second clockings, highlighted by a personal best of 10.94 seconds. Had she contested any other National Championships except her own or the US Trials, the 20-year-old would have been on her way to the World Championship final in Eugene.

When I spoke to coach Boldon, he shed some light on the matter.

“This is the first year that she really didn’t come anywhere near her goals. So that is a first under me, and I think she looked at sort of the reality of her training situation. She still does not have a training partner. We were never able to solve that. I mean, she goes to the physio in Jamaica, so this is not just a ‘oh, I should have run faster than 10.94’ kind of decision,” he outlined.

Months ago, he reminded Briana, “I am going to be your coach for as long as you want, not for as long as I want, for as long as you want and you and I are cool enough where, when you decide, okay, it’s time to make a move, we are making a move,” he recalled.

The athlete’s decision to join the Titans Track Club ends a long coaching association with Boldon.

“You know what it feels like, as somebody with daughters, it feels like when your daughter goes off and gets married. It’s like okay, so obviously, it’s still kind of my project, but she is somebody else’s responsibility now,” he reflected.

She will benefit from having training partners. “That’s something we definitely tried to solve because it’s a critical thing particularly at her age,” said Boldon.

They also discussed his absence due to broadcast commitments and clashes between the Trials and the Jamaican Championships. When that hurdle arose, they used voice/video-over-internet calls to bridge the gap.

“I am also a believer that if you are ready for the exam that you don’t need the teacher in the exam room,” he tabled, “but she and I did talk about the fact, look, how much longer was she going to be able to survive like that.”

Their collaboration may have had a wider impact. Like 2018 World Under-20 110 hurdles champion Damion Thomas, she emerged from the Jamaican diaspora. Their success in 2018 and their presence at the 2021 Olympics will certainly encourage others to represent Jamaica.

Boldon is delighted to have coached Williams.

“You don’t cry because it’s over, you rejoice because it happened.”