TAMPERE, Finland — Briana Williams, the 100m champion, mounted her sprint double hunt with a comfortable run to win her 200m heat on the fourth day at the IAAF World U20 Championships Tampere 2018.
Williams, who won the 100m title on Thursday, made the quick turnaround to grace the track again for the 200m heats during the morning session on Friday.
With her coach Ato Boldon watching from the stands and his arm well folded, the Jamaican cruised to 23.32 seconds to take the third heat with the fourth fastest time overall.
Williams entered the championship with a personal best of 23.11, achieved at the 2018 Carifta Games set in Nassau earlier this season, but her performance in the first round is a strong implication the 16-year-old is well prepared to go sub-23 seconds before the meet is over.
The Florida-based sprinter is the lone Jamaican entrant in the women’s half-lap
The quickest qualifier from the 200m heats, though, was American champion Lauren Rain Williams, who also began the World U20 Championships with the fastest entry time.
Lauren clocked the fastest time over the five opening heats, at 22.98 and she was the only competitor to dip below 23-seconds during the morning session.
Following the American on the scoreboard was Polina Miller, who wrapped up the heats with a 23.17 secs performance.
Poland’s Martyna Kotwila, who finished behind Miller in 23.21, is the third fastest qualifier.
The other heat winners were USA’s Jayla Kirkland who took heat one in 23.41 and Britain’s Alisha Rees, who topped the second heat in 23.49.
The semi-finals are set for Friday’s evening session.