'Madam Speedy' looking for Olympic glory

Madrid, July 12: Tameka Williams, the sprinter from the tiny Caribbean islands of St. Kitts and Nevis, will travel to the London Olympic Games with hopes of making her homeland proud by winning a medal.

“I’ve been having a good season so far and aim to keep on running,” the 22-year-old was quoted as saying by Xinhua after a meet in the Spanish capital.

A runner who is not short of confidence, her belief in her own abilities is made clear by the name she uses on her ‘Twitter’ account Madam Speedy.

“I came up with the name. I’m speedy and I’m a madam, so I put them together and came up with ‘Madam Speedy’,” she joked.

Williams ran third in the 200 metres on a blustery and hard track, but after previously winning a 100-metre race in Russia she was optimistic about her chances in London.

“My hope at the Olympics is to make it to the finals, and if I can get there then what happens will happen, because anything is possible,” she said.

Williams will have two events to win a medal in London, though she has dropped long jump from her itinerary.

“I am doing the 100 and 200 metres. I am finished with the long jump and I am no longer doing it,” she said.

With a total area of just 261 sq km and a population of a little over 50,000, St. Kitts and Nevis is the smallest sovereign state in the Americas, but Williams is not the country’s only medal hope.

“We will have a men’s 4×100 team, which I am looking forward to seeing in the finals in London and I hope they can make it to the podium,” Williams said.