Sada looking to create more history

By Anmar Goodridge-Boyce

The queen of athletics in Barbados could reign supreme over the world in the finals of the women’s 400-metre event on Wednesday after establishing herself as a gold medal contender at the World Championships in Budapest, Hungary.

Sada Williams, the island’s greatest female athlete, once again sits on the cusp of local track and field history and will be looking to capture her third international medal when she enters the starting blocks in lane eight for the highly anticipated one-lap showdown.

It promises to be a blockbuster sprint, slated for 3:35 p.m. Barbados time.

Williams, ranked as the fourth-best female quarter-miler on the planet, has risen to the status of a world-class competitor and emerged as one of the favorites to become the world champion following two blistering performances in the rounds.

The 25-year-old Barbadian ace is in familiar territory after capturing bronze a year ago at the World Athletics Championship in Oregon (49.75) and gold at the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham (49.90).

However, just like last year, Williams is in the shape of her life and pundits believe she could deliver her most special display at the National Athletics Centre.

She heads into the final with a personal best and new national record time of 49.58 seconds set in the semi-finals and will line-up against the likes of rivals Marileidy Paulino, Lieke Klaver and Natalia Kaczmarek.

Noticeably absent from what is a star-studded field is former World and Olympic champion Shaunae Miller-Uibo who returned to competition four months after her pregnancy but failed to progress past the opening round.

American Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone, one of the world leaders this year, withdrew from the championships due to injury and Williams stands a great chance to clinch her second world medal.

No Barbadian woman has ever won gold at the World Athletics Championships and before last year, no Barbadian female had captured a medal at the prestigious event.

Sada changed all of those statistics and she looks destined to elevate the island to greater heights if all goes well.

She is in record breaking form, and judging from her ability to shut down in the heats and clock 50.68 seconds and smash her national record in the semi-final, we could be in for a special treat.

Williams looked extremely comfortable in the semi-final, taking her foot off the pedal in the final 100 metres while maintaining her form. And while she was beaten by Kaczmarek, Williams will be unfazed as she appears to have more in the tank.

She is coached by the legendary Stephen Francis, one of the all-time greats from the MVP club in Jamaica and there is no doubt that Williams has been guided to peak at the right time.

Williams is aiming  to become just the second Barbadian to win a World Championship gold medal after sprint hurdler Ryan Brathwaite created history back in 2009 by setting a new national record of 13.18 seconds and winning the island’s first and only gold medal at the World Championships in the men’s 110 metre hurdles.

(AGB)