Sprint sensation Jodie Williams has topped an already hugely successful season by being voted the female 2011 European Athletics Rising Star.
The prestigious award recognises outstanding young achievers along their journey of development towards senior athletics and the last UK athlete to win the accolade was Jessica Ennis four years ago. The gong will be presented to Jodie at the European Athletics Awards Night in Tenerife on Saturday October 15.
18-year-old Jodie hit the headlines in February this year when she won the Aviva Indoor UK Trials and Championships women’s 60m in a blistering time, dispossessing a strong field.
The result earned the Hertfordshire-born athlete a place in the Aviva Great Britain and Northern Ireland senior team for the European Athletics Indoor Championship in Paris a month later, and it was only 0.01 of a second denied Williams a bronze medal in the 60m final.
In July, Williams won the 100m and 200m at the European Junior Championships in Estonia – setting a new personal best and championship record of 11.18 in the 100m and a season’s best of 22.94 in the 200m. Her medal tally did not end there, with a bronze in the 4x100m relay to add to her haul.
The men’s and women’s winner of the European Athlete of the Year is to be announced next week, with British trio Mo Farah, Dai Greene and Tiffany Porter all in contention.
Fans, media and European Athletics Member Federations were invited to vote for the European Athletics Rising Star on the European Athletics website. Along with the votes from a panel of experts, each group of voters’ results counted for one quarter of the athlete’s final score.
Jessica Whittington, Sportsister
The Women’s Sports Magazine
Image credit: NikeWomen
