‘I’m coming to the end’ – British sprinter Jodie Williams reveals Paris 2024 to be her last Olympics

The Welwyn star is one of the most experienced and popular members of the British track and field team, competing on the major stage since 2012.

Having successfully moved up from 200m to 400m during the pandemic, Williams is looking to wind up her competitive career after a third Olympics next summer.

“I’m coming to the end, for sure,” she said. “I’ve given pretty much my whole life to the sport and I think it’s about time for me.

“I don’t quite know when that will be but I’m looking at these next few championships to be my last, and this Olympics would definitely be my last Olympics.

“After Paris, I’ll make a call on whether I hang up the spikes or carry on for another year or so.”

Williams is far more than just an athlete. She recently founded ‘Listen Journal’, an online platform hosting conversations between people from underrepresented communities.

Based full-time in Atlanta, Georgia, she is active around social issues, particularly mental health, period poverty and living conditions for women in coffee farming communities.

Williams is acutely conscious of the struggles that fellow athletes have faced in transitioning out of sport.

“I’ve been starting to think about setting this up post-athletics and making sure I have a viable career path,” she said. “It’s a huge thing for athletes – when you retire, you’re still an athlete but you’re thrust out into the world.

“Not a lot of athletes think about what happens after their career. We’re so wrapped up in what we’re doing and thinking we’re going to achieve what we want to achieve. It doesn’t set everyone up for life.

“Some people struggle hugely and there needs to be a mentality shift, for athletes to be proactive in taking the courses that are out there a couple of years before retiring, not just when it happens.”

With the Paris 2024 Olympics only one year away, the Games are set to inspire people and communities all across the country. Williams hopes that by sharing her story it will give others motivation to get involved in sport.

Williams made her name over 100m and 200m before stepping up to a full lap ahead of the delayed Tokyo Olympics.

In her Games debut over the distance, she ran a personal best of 49.97 to go sixth on the British all-time list and reach the Olympic final.

“Covid was a life-changing period of time for a lot of people in society,” she said. “It gave me a lot of time to actually take a step back and think. There’s always another event and you never reflect.

“I knew something needed to change – it wasn’t working. So I decided to change events and I had 18 months to pull it off because everything got pushed back.

“It gave me a new challenge and took away the pressure of meeting expectations within the shorter sprints. Moving up, there was no expectation for me over the 400m.

“It allowed me to play around and explore. I had my own targets but it gave me the freedom to redefine what I wanted out of the sport.”