Making a Name for Himself

WRITTEN FOR TEAM 2012 VISA

Following years of being hidden amongst an, albeit successful Team GB 4x400m relay squad, Conrad Williams is determined to race into the individual limelight this summer, writes Nicola Bamford.

The 29-year-old stormed to an impressive 45.45 400m clocking in Geneva, Switzerland last June to become Britain’s third-fastest of the season but still missed out on making an impact on the international championship stage.

Finishing only sixth in the semi-final stage at the European Championships in Barcelona in July and placing sixth in the Commonwealth Games final in Delhi last October, Williams enjoyed bringing home the silverware from the relay event only – claiming silver and bronze, respectively.

Guided by 1992 Olympic 100m champion Linford Christie at his Brunel University base, Williams explains his opinion on his 2010 campaign:

“So far, 2010 was my most successful year – I did all my PB's and won three major medals.”

The third, of course, was the World indoor 4x400m relay bronze taken in Doha in March but understandably, Williams is keen to add to his individual medal collection, rather than rest of his laurels just yet.

Tough

By his own admission, after using the 2011 indoor season for a bit of fun – complete with a couple of 800m appearances – Williams recently headed out to the United States for a spell of warm-weather training to prepare more seriously.

Opening his outdoor campaign with two eye-catching personal-best performances in Arizona (10.65 for 100m and 21.29 for 200m), the Londoner reveals:

“I’m feeling good and things are looking good with the stuff we’ve been doing in training.

“The indoor season was to take the edge off and just have fun, now my goals are to run PB's and get to the worlds champs 400m final.”

The main event in question is the global championship in Daegu, South Korea this August where Williams hopes to not only make his individual debut on the World outdoor stage but to also make an impact.

At the last edition in Berlin two years ago, he had to settle for achieving only a
superb team silver but after his two major championship experiences last summer, has intentions of reaching at least the semi-final stage this time around.

First though, Williams will have to qualify for British selection and in an event where the nation boasts two of Europe’s finest in continental silver and bronze-medallists Michael Bingham and Martyn Rooney, standing out will certainly be tough:

“I think the men’s 400m is one of the most exciting events right now,” he explains.

“We’ve got a lot of talent in it and each year it’s getting hard and the gaps are closing.”

Even more daunting is his aim of making the Olympic 400m squad for the London Olympics next summer but Williams remains patient and realistic in his quest to finally make a name for himself:

“2012, it’s a big year for me but I’m just going to take each day as it comes and after that who knows,” he reveals.