Information Courtesy of the Department of Information
(Charlestown, Nevis) – After making Nevis proud in Beijing, Olympian runner Meritzer Williams returned home this week to a warm welcome by friends, family, ministers of government and her first coach.
Ms. Williams was welcomed at the Charlestown Pier by Deputy Premier of Nevis and Minister of Sports Hon. Hensley Daniel, Junior Minister Hon. Carlisle Powell and her first coach Mr. Kurvin Wallace who was Nevis’ first male Olympian.
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“Congratulations and welcome back to Nevis. I am sure you have done Nevis proud, our first female Olympian going that far. I want to congratulate you for reaching this far,” said Minister Daniel. “As you continue your athletic journey, you are likely to go much further. All the best and I join with all of Nevis in saying congratulations and wish you all the best for the future.”
Accompanied by her mother, Ms. Lolita Williams, Ms. Williams was taken to meet with Premier of Nevis Hon. Joseph Parry at his Bath Hotel office.
While he extended congratulations to the athlete, the Premier spoke of his love for athletics and said it was important for the people of Nevis to be reminded of their sporting prowess.
Ms. Williams told the Department of Information the entire Olympic experience was great. She said though she had, had some nervous moments, the Beijing experience would serve her well.
The history making athlete also spoke of the many advantages to be had in sports in particular track and field.
Beijing and the Olympic experience was great and will provide many opportunities, Ms. Williams said.
“In track and field you have a lot of opportunities,” she said. You can get scholarships, you can go pro you can run for money and you can get a lot of traveling done, you can go all over the world through track. I know many people dream right now to travel all over the world. If they have faith in God and try their best in what they do and train hard, they will succeed.
“I learned that track can take you very far in life. Most of all when you go out on the track you just have to have faith and God will help you through it. Right now, I am on off season, so I’m just here for vacation and I plan to be with my family.”
Ms. Lolita Williams said it was a joyous feeling to see her daughter in a track and field race alongside world class athletes at the Olympics.
“It felt good to see her take part in the Olympics because the night before that, I saw her on ESPN running at the Poland games. So watching her two nights straight, it felt good. I had already shed some tears when she came from Poland for everything that we went through before and to see that she made it to the Olympics. So I was trying to be joyful at that moment,” she said.
Ms. Williams will be on vacation until she leaves for the United States of America in January, 2009, to take up studies at the University of Houston.
