Sada Williams’ chances of winning gold at the 2024 Paris Olympics are much more than a pipe dream.
So says world-renowned athletics coach and head coach at at the Maximising Velocity and Power (MVP) Track and Field Club in Jamaica, Paul Francis, who strongly believes Barbados’ track and field queen has the potential to become the island’s first Olympic champion.
Francis, who has produced world-class athletes such as Asafa Powell, Elaine Thompson-Herah, Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce and current World 200 metre champion Shericka Jackson, was in Budapest, Hungary to witness Williams grab her second World Championship bronze medal in the women’s 400 metres.
He has been working with the 25-year-old Williams since 2018, following her participation in the 2017 World Championships, where she competed in the women’s 200 metres but failed to advance from her heat.
“Gold is a realistic goal. Of course there are other factors; we do not control the persons that she competes against, but we do our research and we have a fair idea as to what level she needs to be at to have a very good chance and our job will be to work with her to ensure that she gets to the level that we think will give her a very good chance of that and then after that we will see how the races go,” Francis told members of the media on the sidelines of a ceremony to honour Williams at the Grantley Adams International Airport today.
“I think she is now very, very, hungry for being at the top of the podium and she will do all that is required now that she knows that the combination is a good combination. She understands that and we understand how to get her ready.
“Our job is to help her to be the very, very best she can be. Her contribution is to put the right attitude and her training to her training regimen. Our job is to guide her and we have absolutely no bones about getting her to be the best that she can be regardless of who else is in the race. And the bonus is what it does to the country, for the country and the appreciation because we all have been through that, so that is our job and it will always be our job,” he added.
Francis said he had seen a significant improvement in Williams’ attitude and performance over the past year.
“Sada Williams’ season in 2022 versus Sada Williams’ season in 2023 were two different persons and I figure it will make an even bigger difference coming to Paris 2024 because of her discipline and having a winning attitude, which is required for her to go all the way to the top,” he said.
Francis admitted that even though Williams could be “stubborn” at times, he said it was a pleasure working with her and described her as a “coach’s dream”.
“There is never a dull day working with Sada and it has been a pleasure. Sada can be stubborn, you know she is very tenacious which is what basically contributes to her great performances. But she is extremely disciplined and at the end of the day she is a coach’s dream because the more she recognises that what she is doing works, is the more she resists her natural inclination to stop and give up and to keep going…” he said.
Meanwhile, Williams, who set a new national record in the semifinals in Budapest in a time of 49.58 seconds, revealed that she was disappointed with her bronze medal performance at the meet.
She said her sights were now set on breaking the national record again and reaching the podium at the Paris Olympics.
“I don’t think a lot of people know this, but the bronze medal that I achieved this year, I was a little bit disappointed because I was expecting an upgrade from the bronze last year. So hopefully next year I can do a lot better, both in terms of medals and times, and definitely be back on the podium,” she said.
