Jamaican track and field sensation Briana Williams has penned a sponsorship with Nike for an undisclosed amount recently. The 17-year-old sprinter has naturally been courted by other companies, but it seems that Nike has won her over.  Briana Williams had a whirlwind 2019. On one hand, she was named High School Athlete of the Year by 

Track & Field News and she also won the 100m final at the NACAC U18 Championships in Mexico and the Pan Am Under-20 Championships in Costa Rica in that year. On the other hand, Williams missed out on representing Jamaica at the IAAF World Championships in Doha, Qatar in September of last year. This was as a result of her testing positive for diuretic hydrochlorothiazide (HCTZ). The substance was found in a urine sample that was taken after competing in the National Championships in June 2019 . HCTZ is a banned substance because it can be used by athletes to mask performance-enhancing drugs. According to reports, she had taken

Pharma Cold and Flu tablets, an over the counter drug, in an effort to subdue a high fever.  The US-based athlete had finished third in a time of 10.94 seconds which placed her behind Elaine Thompson and Shelly-Ann Fraser Pryce in the aforementioned National Championships. The time would have actually been an under-18 world record and a national junior record for Jamaica if it wasn’t seen as illegitimate due to the failed drug test. Williams was actually cleared to compete in September by the Independent Anti-Doping Disciplinary Panel (IADP) without any period of ineligibility. Unfortunately, she wasn’t able to compete due to the timing of the decision.  Nonetheless, this TEEN remains a force to be reckoned with and we wish her the best and hope the new sponsorship with Nike is everything she has hoped for. You can look out for her name in track and field because Briana Williams isn’t going anywhere. Congratulations! 

–TREVANN HAMILTON