Sensational Run

Dream relay record on Williams’ debut

Karin Strametz, Christania Williams, Isabel Posch, and Leni Lindner(Bild: zVg)

The next relay record for Austria’s sprinters: In Regensburg, the quartet—with new 100-meter record holder Isabel Posch as the anchor—improved the record of 43.77 seconds, set just 14 days ago in Villach, by 66 hundredths of a second to a sensational 43.11 seconds! Christania Williams, a former world-class sprinter from Jamaica, celebrated a dream debut as an Austrian—her first race and a record right away. It doesn’t get any better than that!

Christania Williams married coach Philipp Unfried a year ago, became an Austrian citizen, and has been eligible to compete for the ÖLV since November 30, 2025. She had skipped the indoor season because she was competing as a pusher in Katrin Beierl’s two-man bobsled at the Winter Olympics in Cortina (finishing ninth)—but now she made her magnificent debut on the national track and field team. She ran as the anchor at the Sparkassen Gala in Regensburg, followed by Leni Lindner, Karin Strametz, and Isabel Posch. With the new record, the quartet has secured one of the 16 starting spots for the European Championships in Birmingham (August 10–16)

,Olympic silver medalist in Rio de Janeiro in 2016With Williams, who joined the team in place of Patricia Brunninger ahead of the Villach meet, Austria now has another top runner in its ranks. The 30-year-old had her heyday a decade ago. At the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio, she ran a personal best of 10.96 seconds in the semifinals, finishing third, and then placed eighth in the final. Together with Elaine Thompson, Veronica Campbell-Brown, and Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce—the famous Jamaican sprinters—she won the silver medal in the 4x100-meter relay with a time of 41.36. A year later, she also won a bronze medal with Jamaica in the 4x100m at the World Championships in London.

Karin Strametz, Christania Williams, Isabel Posch, and Leni Lindner(Bild: zVg)

Two major victories in Zurich
In addition to her 10.96 in Rio, she ran under 11.00 seconds once more ten years ago in Kingston with a time of 10.97. Just how sensationally fast Williams once was is also shown by the fact that she won the 100m twice at the legendary “Weltklasse” meet in Zurich—in 2016 and 2017, her two best years, when she ran faster than 11.10 a total of ten times. Williams recently demonstrated that she is still in a class of her own: with times of 11.24 and 11.28, she posted strong season-best times in 2024 and 2025. She is a great addition to the team ahead of the European Championships.

Gold at the World Youth Championships
I witnessed all of these great sprints by the former Jamaican sprinter live at the Olympics, World Championships, and in Zurich, though my personal memories of her go back even further. When Williams won gold with the relay team and bronze in the 100m for Jamaica at the 2011 U18 World Championships in Lille, I was a press delegate for World Athletics and escorted her through the mixed zone to the interviews…