A return to racing for Detroit's Lauryn Williams

It wasn't at the finish line, but at the start, when sprinter Lauryn Williams knew she was back.

Before she stepped into the blocks for the women's 60-meter final at the Millrose Games on Jan. 28 at Madison Square Garden, Williams battled a surge of emotions that had been missing from her racing for a long time.

It was an old friend called anxiety.

"I had the kind of butterflies that I hadn't really experienced at all in 2009," she said. "It was all coming back for that first race."

For Williams, 27, dealing with her nerves again settled her in a way that only she understood: "They convinced me that I made the right decision."

Williams, the 100-meter world outdoor champion in 2005 and 2004 Olympic silver medalist, is back on the track after taking a year off from competition. She didn't race in 2010, she said, because she realized midway through the 2009 season that her heart wasn't in it.

"I was just existing," Williams, a Detroit native, said last week by phone from Miami, Fla., where she has made her home since graduating from the University of Miami (Fla.) in 2004. "Looking back, now having a chance to reflect on it, I would say it was a solid 2009, but it was the first time I was going through the motions. I even said to myself at the time, 'Even though you're going through the motions, you can still make the world championship team and make it to the finals' -- which I did (finishing fifth).

"But I didn't want to be out there getting fifth place and participating -- just competing to compete. So I decided to take a break, to regroup and get myself back together so that when I do step on the track, I'm stepping onto it to do my best and reach a higher level of competition."

It didn't take Williams long to find the reason she lost her passion for the sport.

In October 2008 -- two months after finishing fourth in the 100 in the Beijing Olympics -- her father, David Williams, died of leukemia at 55.

"It wasn't until June or July of '09 that it really did hit me," Lauryn said. "I tried to call him one day and realized, 'I can't call him. He's dead.' "

With the support of her mother, Donna Williams, and longtime coach Amy Deem -- whom this past week was named the U.S. women's track and field head coach for the 2012 Olympics -- she gave herself time to heal and explore life away from the sport.

"Lauryn is a very bright young woman," Deem said Friday. "I wanted her to reflect. I said, 'Don't come back if you can't commit. Don't come back halfway.' I wanted her to figure out how much it meant."

Williams, who has a degree in finance and a real estate license, became involved in a faith-based camp for athletes last year that she said challenged her "to go above what you're physically capable of, in addition to mentally and spiritually."

She signed with a new shoe sponsor (Saucony). She began working 20 hours a week in the athletic department at Miami as a life skills and community relations coordinator. Williams said the job is up her alley; she helps students become "well-rounded individuals."

As for Williams' track future? Count her in.

Before racing well in her indoor debut of the season last month in New York -- Williams took second in the 60-meter final to Veronica Campbell-Brown in 7.22 seconds -- she gathered her "team" at a dinner at her house. She told them of her commitment to go for her third Olympics in 2012.

As for 2010, don't call it a lost year, Williams said, because the time away gave her the chance to address the two biggest questions in her life: "Who am I?'' and "Where am I going?"

Williams said: "I'm closer to the person I want to be."

(freep.com)