Food and family important for Briana

Food and family. Those are the things that 4x100m Olympic gold medallist Briana Williams says mean the most to her during the holidays.

"What makes the holiday season special for me is that I get to be with most of my family members and spend time with them and enjoy the great food that is cooked on Christmas Day," Williams told THE WEEKEND STAR.

Preparations for a busy 2022 season are ongoing for Williams, with the World Athletics Championships in Eugene, Oregon, set for next summer. However, she says that Christmas means to be able to enjoy her Christmas favourites.

"I look forward to eating ham, oxtail, and rum cake," Williams said.

While excited about enjoying the festive season, Williams says that the true spirit of the holidays should not be forgotten, the season of giving to others.

Williams, 19, is coming off her first full season as a professional sprinter which saw her capture her first major medal at the senior level this year at the Tokyo Olympic Games. She ran the opening leg of Jamaica's gold-winning 4x100m relay team in a national record of 41.02 seconds. It was a team that included the Jamaican trio that swept the podium at the 100m individual event: back-to-back double Olympic sprint champion Elaine Thompson Herah, multiple World and Olympic champion Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce, who came second, and multiple Olympic medallist Shericka Jackson, who finished third.