Williamson claims Gold for real
By Lee Taylor | 16 August 2007
Britain's Simeon Williamson claims gold in the 100m at the World University Games - a rerun of the final he thought he'd originally won it.
Williamson had crossed the line first when the race was run originally run on Saturday but after several appeals from other nations Williamson was later adjudged to have false started. A 'mistake' with the technical equipment meant the gun had failed to fire.
However the European U23 Champion was not to be denied his crown, he finished even quicker in the re-run to ensure the title of Champion was undoubtedly his, coming home in 10.22 to finish ahead of the same two athletes China’s Peimeng Zhang and Neville Wright of Canada..
“To be honest my first thought was “what has gone wrong this time?” said the 21-year-old. “ In all seriousness though, I am delighted to have won the race, as I thought I’d already done it and it was hard to take when I heard the decision,” he said. “I didn’t think I had any more to give but I had no choice but to find it somewhere!”
“We’re ecstatic that he’s gone out there and won it again,” said head coach Yvette Luker. “In retrospect it was probably the right decision to run the race again, but it wasn’t Simeon’s fault that they weren’t recalled and it was hard on him,” she added. “The one thing that stands out for us is the fact that despite everything, he kept his composure and didn’t crack under the pressure.”
