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The world champion has explained how she wants to cultivate a crop of confident Jamaican hurdlers including Ackera Nugent as she looks to hang her spikes.
Reigning world 100m hurdles champion Danielle Williams was unaware of the impact she is making in the sport until the Diamond League Meeting in Zurich.
Williams is known to show love to every one of her competitors after the race despite winning or losing. One specific athlete who has been impacted by her sportsmanship is Ackera Nugent, her fellow Jamaican hurdler who is on her way to making a name for herself.
After the Diamond League Meeting in Silesia where Nugent claimed the top honours in the hotly contested race, she opened up about how Williams has been a vital part of her success as she looks forward to dominating in dozens of upcoming events.
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The Jamaican youngster just turned professional this season and the win was her first in the Diamond League Meeting circuit after making her debut at the Diamond League Meeting in Lausanne.
Follow the Pulse Sports Kenya X handle for more updates.
“To my idol growing up thank because after getting an injury at the Olympics I thought my season was over you hold me and cried with me, to not wanting to run the circuit you hold my hand and told me you got me and you kept your word thank u,” she shared in a post on X after her win.
To her surprise, Williams did not know the kind of impact she had made on the youngster but disclosed that her main goal is to make young athletes, especially from Jamaica, feel comfortable.
She told the Inside Lane that there is enough space for everyone to thrive and having fewer years of competing ahead of her, she wants to ensure she leaves a crop of confident and motivated hurdlers from Jamaica.
“I did not know, I was just out here spreading God’s love for everyone knowing that we are here for you, the sport is bigger than any person and I did it, I came out, I left my mark and they’re going to do it, they’re going to leave their marks and leave the space for anyone coming in,” she said.
“I’m at that stage of my career where I have fewer years ahead of me than most of these ladies. For me, there is enough space for all of us to shine, the sport is bigger than all of us, you know, we came and we saw and we are going to leave it as well.”
Williams added that being a professional athlete can get lonely sometimes and she wants to change the narrative for the upcoming sprinters. The Jamaican hurdler explained that she wants the youngsters to always know they have a friend hence her love for all the athletes when competing.
“For me, it’s more like cultivating relationships, paving the path for those coming up behind me, especially the young Jamaicans, I want them to know that I’m here for them. I’ll guide them on this journey because I know it gets lonely when you are out here by yourself. I just want them to know that they have a friend as well as a competitor,” she said.
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