Lauryn Williams: Jeter sets 100m bar high

PORT-OF-SPAIN: Former world 100m champion Lauryn Williams has described Carmelita Jeter’s 2009 performances as ‘amazing’ while saying her American compatriot had set the bar high for female sprinters.

“Her performances are amazing, you know (it was) the second fastest in history,” Williams said of the 10.64secs, which puts Jeter only behind Florence Griffith-Joyner (10.49) on the all-time women’s 100 list.

“It (10.6) is something definitely everybody has been gunning for, getting the times down. You see the 10.8’s sometimes. I think for women it is a little bit harder for women to be consistent and she was very fortunate to not only be consistent but to start the season off healthy the whole time,” added Williams, who defeated Jamaican Veronica Campbell-Brown to win the 2005 World Championships 100m in Helsinki.

Williams, who returned to lose the 2007 World Championships to Campbell-Brown in a photo finish, added: “10.8 has been kind of the bar for the fastest run each year and to come on down all the way to 10.6 is great.”

“We had a lot of 10.7’s run last season. It is just a matter of being healthy and everybody stepping up their game a notch,” added Williams the 2004 Olympics Games silver medalist.

Williams also won the 2003 Pan American Games 100m title and was second at the 2006 World Indoors, but in the last two years – 2008 and 2009 – which saw two major Championships – Olympics and World Champs – has not sparked.

Asked what has happened since her last medal performance in 2007, she replied: “I think in 2008 I came out a little bit short. I was ready. I was fit. At the end of the day you could have eight people on the line who are capable of running the same time. Everybody can’t do it all at the same race otherwise you would have an eight person photo finish and (that) don’t happen often or ever.”



(trackalerts.com)