DOUBLE GOLD: Jamaica's Briana Williams completes sprint double in record fashion in Finland

BY PAUL A REID Observer Writer reidp@jamaicaobserver.com

Brianna Williams

TAMPERE, Finland — A priceless sprint double from the incomparable Briana Williams in record time and a National Junior Record run for silver from the men's 4x100m team earned another two medals for Jamaica on yesterday's penultimate day of the IAAF World Under-20 Championship in Tampere, Finland.

A sublime 22.50 seconds (0.1m/s) from the mercurial 16-year-old came like a bolt of lightning out of the blue to the delight of the fair-sized crowd on a bright and sunny day, as she completed a rare sprint double after she won the 100m on Thursday, breaking the Championships Record as well as rewrite the Jamaican national youth and junior records in one fell swoop.

Her time beats the NJR 22.71 seconds set by Simone Facey in 2004 and is the 21st best ever by an Under-20 runner. It also the erased NYR 22.72 seconds set in March this year by Kevona Davis and is the fifth-best ever for an athlete under the age of 18.

It also beat the Championship Record of 22.53 seconds (0.2m/s) set by Anthonique Strachan of The Bahamas in Barcelona, Spain, in 2012. more