U.S. Sprinter Williams Gets Good Run of Advice

If fame is catching, then sprinter Angela Williams should eventually be one of the best.

The 19-year-old Williams, one of the youngest members of the U.S. track and field team at the Pan American Games, has received advice and inspiration from three of the sport’s greatest women athletes--Florence Griffith Joyner, Jackie Joyner-Kersee and Gail Devers.

The first brush with the late FloJo came in 1992, when Williams was 12 and already showing signs of her natural speed.

“She called my house and said she wanted to make some special uniforms for me,” Williams said Friday.

The two outfits were for Williams to wear for cover shots on a magazine for kids. In typical Griffith Joyner style, they were colorful and classy.

“One was shorts and long pants that were pink and yellow,” Williams said. “The other was a full bodysuit without legs that was pink and green. They had hair bows and leg ties to match. She had it all going.”

Griffith Joyner not only adorned Williams with her unique outfits, but also offered her some inspirational words.

“She said she wanted me to break her records when I got older,” Williams said. “Being so young, I was excited that she even thought of me.”

Griffith Joyner still owns world records in the 100 meters of 10.49 seconds and the 200 (21.34), both set in 1988 during her sensational season of winning three Olympic gold medals and one silver.

Williams, only one year out of Chino (Calif.) High School and a freshman at Southern California, has a career-best 10.98, wind-aided, for the 100, and a legal best of 11.04. She won this year’s NCAA championship and finished third at the USA Championships.

Williams’ first meeting with the now-retired Joyner-Kersee, the three-time Olympic gold medalist and world record-holder in the heptathlon, also came in 1992, at a youth competition in New Orleans in conjunction with the Olympic trials.

“She was the spokeswoman for the event,” said Williams, who was competing in three events. “She talked to us and took us around.”

Williams was impressed by Joyner-Kersee’s mental strength and composure.

The meeting with Devers, the two-time Olympic gold medalist in the 100, occurred at last month’s national championships in Eugene, Ore.

“They all let you know they’re proud of you,” Williams said. “I’ve learned from them, especially how they carry themselves. Then, you start believing in yourself.”

Of the three stars, Williams was most enamored of Griffith Joyner.

“When I looked at her (in pictures) before I met her, she was a goddess,” the teen-ager said. “She made the sport different. She had her own style and great poise.

“When she got on the track, you knew she was there. She had fun and enjoyed what she was doing.”

Williams had adopted that fun-loving attitude for her running. She disdains and ignores the psychological ploys other runners use to intimidate her at the starting line.

“When I look at people glaring at each other, I think it wouldn’t be fun to run track if I did that,” she said. “Marion Jones (ranked No. 1 in the world in the 100 and 200) always talks positive. And when I met Gail [Devers], she was always laughing and joking. That’s what keeps me going.

“Being so young, I’ve been scared out there. But when I think I’ve spoken to some of the greatest sprinters, I say, ‘Why am I worried? They didn’t seem to be.’

“I’ve matured a lot. I have no problems. I don’t act intimidated.”

Williams, among the Pan Am favorites in the 100, hasn’t faced much of the tough European competition yet. She isn’t worried.

“The Europeans will come at me with a totally different air,” Williams said. “I’ll be able to handle it. I’ll smile at them. I don’t fight or bring anger to the sport.”

Williams’ sensational performances already have drawn comparisons with Jones.

“I know I’m on the right track if they’re noticing that,” she said. “As long as I’m on top, I’m proud. I’m consistent, but I have a long way to go. Every year, I’m getting better and better.

“Next year, I want to make the Olympic team. I hope I’ll be ready.”

Hobnobbing with the best can only help Williams.