Emily Williams has completed an incredible week which saw her produce two stunning performances to propel her to the top of the UK rankings for both the 1500m & the 800m and cement her position as one of the very best U17 talents in the UK.
Following the disappointment of a slightly below performance by her own very high standards at the BMC Grand prix meeting in Manchester, Emily bounced back produced a truly world class 1500m performance at her beloved Watford tack at their graded open meeting. Such was the strength of the performance that she also moves to 3rd on the All-Time UK ranking list for bottom year U17’s, and amazingly to 5th in the world rankings (15-17 year old’s), a truly astonishing feat for athlete who has just turned 15 year old!
Emily Williams on her way to one of the best 1500m ever in the UK from a 15 year old
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The race which was ran in near perfect conditions went off exactly to plan with a target of 2:18 at 800m and with the knowledge that a time at the bell of 3:10-3:15 would mean she was on target to challenge for the UK top spot & better her PB & Club record for the third time this season, she split at a perfect 3:13 and then produced a superb 67 last lap to smash her PB by 6 seconds. Emily’s performance is testament to her strength of character and determination.
Coach Shane Smith said “Emily has worked so hard in training over the past 9 months, really upping her game, and she absolutely deserves the current success she is enjoying”. He added “Emily is at the fore of a hugely talented crop of bottom year U17 Women in both the 1500 & 800m in the UK who are literally trading blows week by week to head the UK rankings, it’s quite unprecedented and there appears to be a golden generation emerging which is really exciting, and best of all it’s really helping drive their performances.”
Emily’s next challenge was the BMC PB classic in Milton Keynes where she was competing head to head with the current UK number 1; Molly Canham, in the Women’s 'A' race, along with some top quality U20 Women. Emily ran a superb tactical race, sitting in on the opening lap which was paced at 61 seconds and splitting just off the pace maker at 63 seconds. Emily moved through on the back straight after the bell to close in on her main rival, and kicking decisively with 150m to go she surged past Canham on the home straight and powered her way to a magnificent second place behind U20 Khahisa Mhlanga, defeating Canham for the first time on track and in doing so move ahead of her in the rankings with a super-fast 2:07.46. This was an outstanding performance to cap a magical week for Emily who was delighted with her two performances.
Emily Williams powers her way to the UK top spot for 800m
After her race Emily said "I am so pleased about how the last week has gone, I'm so happy to be UK No.1 for both 800m and 1500m at the moment" she added "The U17 is a very competitive age group with some very talented girls so I am incredibly pleased to be one of them".
This has been a phenomenal week for Emily who rightly sits at the fore of a hugely talented U17 age group in the UK, and she now heads into the final preparation phase of her track season before the National Championships in a buoyant mood.
Congratulations to Emily on her continued success, she is proudly placing Kettering Town Harriers on the UK National & International stage!