Williams completes redemption season

At last, Holmwood Technical’s Cedricka Williams got the moment she was waiting for, completing a road to redemption to not only claim the Class One discus title, but also broke and kept the ISSA/GraceKennedy Boys and Girls’ Athletics Championships (Champs) record for herself, for good.

Williams won Wednesday’s final with a record-breaking effort of 57.84 metres, the third time that the meet record changed hands in the space of 24 hours. St Jago High’s Abigail Martin came second with 53.81m and Camperdown’s Britannia Johnson was third with 50.69m.

For Williams, the disappointment of her seventh-place finish last season, after coming into that championships as the favourite was erased, as she relished claiming the title in her final season at Holmwood.

“I feel very elated because I am coming from a far way. I didn’t (do well) in the final last year, so to come again and win, I’m very excited,” Williams said.

What she didn’t expect is the way she had to fight not only for the title, but the record as the fireworks started on Tuesday in the preliminaries. Williams’s 53.22m effort originally erased the 53.04m mark which was set by Fiona Richards in 2017. Minutes later in the second qualifying group Martin eclipsed that effort, with a massive 55.19m to become the new frontrunner in the event.

While it was not the way that she originally planned it, Williams said that Martin’s performance was a signal to her that she too must rise to the occasion to get back in the hunt.

“It wasn’t planned that way but it happened that way. Last night I told myself that she went out hard and I needed to go hard as well,” Williams said.

Williams held nothing back in the final, setting the mark in the first attempt of the final with everyone else playing catchup, the record changing for the third time but unlike in the preliminaries, nobody could get close to denying her the title.

Williams could barely put the moment into words, but in her final year, she said that the improvement in her temperament and technique led to her success. With the pressure now off, she says she can enjoy finishing her final Champs season, with the shot put and the javelin.

“Winning the title means a lot. I can’t explain what it means,” Williams said. “I have so many words. I just stayed humble and patient and then I worked on my speed and release in order to get a record.”

daniel.wheeler@gleanerjm.com