PARIS, France — Two-time world 100m hurdles champion Danielle Williams has indicated that she is prepared to do whatever it takes to win a medal in her first Olympic Games in Paris.

Williams, 31, who has had a fluctuating season this year, produced a massive upset to win the gold medal from lane one at the World Championships in Budapest, Hungary, last year. She also won gold in the event at the 2015 World Championships in Beijing, China.

Williams told the Jamaica Observer that her season has not gone the way she would like, but she is backing herself to get it right at the time when it matters most at the Olympic Games.

“I just know if it is going to take a personal best for me to make the podium, then I am prepared to do just that,” said Williams. “The mindset coming here is to run a lot smarter, run better, and run the race that I know I can run.”

Williams was the second-place finisher at the National Championships behind Ackera Nugent in late June. Williams will enter the Olympic Games with a season’s best time of 12.46 seconds, making her the second-fastest Jamaican this year behind Nugent’s time of 12.28.

Williams pointed out that she was not pleased with her execution at the Olympic trial, so she will be taking a much smarter approach at the Olympic Games.

“I didn’t run a good race in the final at the trial; it was a very badly executed race for me. So I really had to step back and look at what I did wrong and what I did and did not do. The mindset coming here is to run a lot smarter, run better, and run the race that I know I can run,” she said.

“I am working very hard to achieve that gold, and I also know that the outcome is really out of my control. I can show up in the best possible shape and run the best race of my life and not win a medal, but at the end of the day, I am giving myself a chance, and I know that once I line up on the track and in the final, I can win,” Williams added.

She also said that she is not putting undue pressure on herself going into her first Olympic Games, as she plans to enjoy the experience as much as possible.

“I am feeling pretty good. I don’t really put anybody’s thoughts on my expectations other than my own. I have worked pretty hard to get here, and I am expecting that I will go out and do my best. Whatever that looks like, as long as I know I gave 100 per cent of my efforts, I know that I am good with that. The first dream was to make the Olympics, and the second dream is to be on the podium and to win a gold medal.”

Jamaica has won only one medal in the women’s 100m hurdles at the Olympic Games, with Megan Tapper winning a bronze in Tokyo in 2021.