Lauren Williams, Fastest Girl In L.A.

-World’s Fastest 9-Year-old Doesn’t Act Her Age.

She is mature beyond her years, you just keep reminding yourself that she is only nine-years-old.
Raw talent. Natural athlete. Pint-size youth runner Lauren Williams is not on anyone’s you-gotta-know-this-kid list. Not yet at least.

The Long Beach, California native isn’t merely running to sweat, she is hauling in gold medals. If anything, she is re-writing World Youth Records in the 100 and 200-meters. And yet, the mainstream track media doesn’t fully know who Lauren Williams is.

Williams took the Quiet Fire Track Club of Los Angeles to the highest levels at the AAU Junior National Games. She brought the heat all over the Golden State, showing a quick start and powerful closing speed down the stretch. She dominated AAU and USA Track and Field Youth meets up and down the California coast.

Williams did not run from the competition – she seeks it out. Once the spring season hit, Lauren and her family piled in the family car traveling as far south as San Diego seeking to run against the best talent possible.

She closed out the season winning both the 100 (13.65) and 200-meter (28.48) National Titles in the Sub-Bantam-Girl Division at the AAU Junior Olympic Championships in Detroit, along with a seventh place finish in the long jump, and a 7th place finish 100 meter USA Track & Field Junior Olympics.

The 400-meter relay she ran third leg on a team that was ranked in the top five consistently throughout the 2008 season. The foursome dropped the baton between the first and second leg, dashing any chances of a medaling at the championships.

Best is not up for debate – like her idol Olympian and World Champion Lauryn Williams, the younger Lauren Williams is a runner to watch at every opportunity. You never know what she might do.

“Ms. Lauryn Williams has become one of my role models,” says Williams. “She is fast, she is left-handed like me, and she is kind!”

She is poised beyond her years, performing flawlessly under the pressures of big race demands, something professional runners struggle with mastering. You would have thought she might be nervous, but in fact she was a forthright, soft-spoken conversationalist, handling the interview with the ease of a pro.

In front of the ESPN cameras, Williams won the 100-meters on national television, earning the title “Fastest Girl In L.A.” at the 2008 Adidas Track Class held at the Home Deport Center in Carson, Calif.

“One of the most exciting experiences that I’ve had in my athletic career so far was to be crowned the youth winner,” says Williams.

“As a result of competing in this track classic, I was named the fastest young girl in the greater L.A. area. I had the chance to meet some of the fastest women in the world who were competing at the classic, such as the professional track star Lauryn Williams who was very nice to me. She hugged me and told me to keep up the good work.”

The roads trips and life experiences are not lost on Williams. She said, “The three most important things that I have learned from athletes is if you work hard, achieve great things, you will have opportunities to help people. To always try your best, because you don’t always get another chance. And third, to treat people nicely, and always be a good sport.”

Success has not been arrived at without extensive planning or effort on the behalf of her parents. Williams’ mother, Dr. Williams is a former high school track athlete and is in charge of Lauren’s healthy meals. Her father, Henry, is her coach. Practices take place under his guidance as he is a Los Angeles police officer and a former collegiate track runner.

“During the summer of 2005, at the age of five-and-a-half, I was inspired by my mom to go run and jump at a Parks and Recreations event, said Williams. “I ran in the 100 and 200-meter race events and won two blue first place ribbons. At age six-and-a-half, my dad a former collegiate track and field athlete started training me and I ran in a total five track meets this year.”

She went on to say, “I have a fantastic support group in my family: grandparents, uncles, aunts, and cousins. They attend my track and field competitions, and they cheer very loud for me. My coaches and my teammates are very supportive, and they always tell me that I do a good job.”

The hard work and dedication are showing signs of paying off for Lauren. She is currently the female World Record holder for 8-year-old runners in the 100 and 200-meters. Lauren Williams is a prodigy, and someone that we may all be watching for many years to come.

Herb Jones is a contributor for PreRaceJitters, an NBC Universal Sports affiliate site.

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