JODIE WILLIAMS, already the winner of the 100m, gave further evidence of her dazzling sprinting talent yesterday when she easily qualified for the final of the 200m at the World Youth Championships in Bressanone, Italy. A consummate victory in the semi-final, despite a hard week’s racing, makes the Briton favourite for another gold medal today.

The 15-year old from Hertfordshire, who was racing against some opponents more than two years older than her, won her event in 23.44sec to emphasise that she is potentially the most prodigious female British sprinter since the rise 20 years ago of Katharine Merry, who went on to win an Olympic bronze medal in Sydney. Wiliams, who had a hamstring problem last week, will be joined in the 200m final by Shaunna Thompson of Sale, who qualified as the fastest loser from the other heats with a time of 24.05sec.

“I felt quite strong. I eased off at the last 10m so I think I can go faster in the final,” said Williams. “My legs are aching and I’m very tired. I’m going for an ice bath now and I’ll then have a long sleep ready for tomorrow.”

The London Olympics in 2012 may come too soon for Williams to be at her peak but she has already demonstrated her competitive flair. She won the 100m final last Thursday in 11.39sec, which was both the fastest time in the world this year and the best ever for any European female sprinter aged under 18. It also rocketed her to third place in this year’s senior UK rankings.

The performance was achieved despite Williams suffering from both a hamstring niggle and a poor start. Her reaction time at the gun was 0.215sec, the slowest by any 100m finalist since the championships began in 1999. Yet her instant acceleration and smooth style allowed her to flow past Allison Peter of the Virgin Islands and the American Ashton Purvis to claim an impressive victory.

“Another personal best — wow, I am happy. It’s such an amazing feeling to have won,” she said. I did not come here expecting to win, so it’s a shock. I honestly did not think I would have done better than what I did in the semi-final. This victory is so important because it’s the first step along the line, since eventually I’d like to become a professional athlete.”

Williams is a sports scholar at Queenswood, the girls’ independent school in Hertfordshire usually renowned for winning national titles in tennis and hockey. She has never been beaten in her age group in the sprints.

Ian Hodge, the eminent athletics statistician, believes that she might eventually move up to 400m, like Merry, the 2000 Olympic bronze medallist at the distance.

Hodge says: “Jodie has a natural endurance base so the extra distance is not a problem. The longer the distance she runs, the better she gets. It is very, very rare to find someone with such ability over all the sprint events.

“It is important that she is kept in her age group for the moment and is not pushed. I hope that Mike McFarlane, who advises her, continues to say, ‘No’. Jodie has been selected for the European Junior (under 20) Championships in Novi Sad, Serbia, later this month — but only in the relay. This is what Jodie wanted and it will allow her to blend with her teammates, such as Ashlee Nelson, whose performances she is now beating.”