* Briana Williams spoke with MileSplit's Joe Battaglia on Friday about her decision to sign with Nike
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Briana Williams, the 17-year-old sprinter who broke the national high school 100 meter record in June at Jamaica's Senior Track and Field Championships, has turned pro and has signed a contract with HSI International, it was announced on Friday.
A high school senior based in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, Williams has also finalized a sponsorship contract with Nike, the details of which were not disclosed. She currently attends Oakland Park Northeast High School.
Williams is coached by Ato Boldon, the 4-time Olympic medalist with Trinidad & Tobago and NBC track and field analyst who has entertained viewers through multiple World Championships, American Trials, and Olympic Games.
He first began training the young talent in 2015, over her seventh-grade season, and soon brought her through an incredible progression on the track, which for over five seasons has yielded a US No. 1 all-time best of 10.94 seconds in the 100m and a US No. 5 all-time mark of 22.50 seconds in the 200m -- and elite-level improvements overall at both distances.
On June 7, she a new national high school class record of 10.94 (+0.6) seconds for 100 meters, finishing third at Jamaica's senior championships, which qualified her for the IAAF World Championships in Doha, Qatar.
The time was not ratified by World Athletics as a U18 and World Junior record after Williams tested positive for a diuretic -- though she was later found at "no fault" for the test result based on an independent investigation -- at the Jamaican Championships, though it still stands as a high national record.
It would have finished ranked No. 6 in the world and No. 2 for U20s in 2019 thus far.
Her season, however, was much more than one race. She produced arguably the most successful high school sprint season of all-time in 2019 -- and was eventually named as MileSplit's Girls Athlete of the Year for 2019. The junior, who ran for Oakland Park Northeast High School in the early spring months, also ran wind-legal marks of 11.01, 11.02, 11.10, and 11.11 in the 100m.
Her mark of 11.02 seconds, from the Great Southwest Classic, stands as Jamaica's U20 record.
Those times rank No. 3, 4, 6 and 7 all-time.
As she focused exclusively in the 100m in the latter stages of the summer months, Williams opted out of the 200m, where she was also electric. She ran 22.88, 22.89 and 22.95 across the spring season.
Williams also won at big meets.
She won a Pan American U20 Championship for 100 meters, earned a 100m title at the NACAC U18 Championships in Mexico, scored a meet record at The Great Southwest Classic and tripled at the CARIFTA Games, winning the 100m, 200m and running to gold in the 4x100.
A year ago Williams become the youngest competitor to double at the IAAF U20 Championships, winning both the 100m and 200m.
Indoors, Williams has run sparingly but is coming off a 60m best of 7.25, which ranks fifth all-time. She won a New Balance Nationals Indoor title in 2019.
She also owns a world age group record of 11.13 seconds for 15-year-olds.
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