University of Georgia Athletics
A Quick Chat With ... Kendell Williams
January 28, 2016 | Track & Field
By John Frierson
UGAAA Staff Writer
Kendell Williams is now in her time of year. The Georgia junior is already a two-time NCAA champion in the pentathlon, and two-time collegiate record holder, and she will compete in the event for the first time this indoor season this weekend at the Razorback Invitational in Fayetteville, Ark.
Williams is also starting one of the biggest years of her life. Not only is she pursuing a lot of SEC and NCAA hardware, there are the United States Olympic Trials down the road and, hopefully, the Summer Olympics in Rio after that. She won the NCAA title in the heptathlon as a freshman and placed second last year.
On Wednesday, the Marietta, Ga., native sat down for a quick chat and talked about the big year ahead, the good that can come from an injury and much more. Here's some of what she had to say:
Frierson: What's the funniest thing you've ever seen or heard in a track meet or practice?
Williams: I think just watching [Georgia coach Petros Kyprianou] at a meet may be the funniest thing. He just gets so worked up and he's so energetic, as is, in the midst of competition. So if you watch him when Keturah [Orji] is long jumping or something, he'll go through the long jump motions with her. And when people are pole vaulting, he has this thing where he'll lift his leg up as they go over the bar.
I don't know. It's just fun to watch him and hear him throughout the competition.
Frierson: If you could have competed with or against anyone in history, who would it be?
Williams: I think I would like to compete with Jackie Joyner-Kersee, only because she was the best to ever do my event. I would just be in the area with her and be in the competition with her, watching each of her performances step by step with her. I think that would be so cool, and she's such a nice person, too. Definitely her.
Frierson: The Olympic Trials are in July and the Rio Olympics are in August. Do you go a day without thinking about either of those things?
Williams: It's definitely different. You've got to have a long-term vision, you've got to have a different plan of execution. I know Petros has a plan of where I'm going to peak at different times and so some meets are not going to be super fantastic, but that's because I'm going to peak better later in the season. It's just having patience and trying to stay healthy, for sure. It's definitely important this year to stay healthy.
It's really important to have a vision and keep in mind that your season is going to be a lot longer than it usually is.
Frierson: What do you do to get away from sports? In the quiet moments of your day, how do you spend your time?
Williams: I read a lot. I just finished a book, actually, that is probably my favorite I've read.
Frierson: What was the book?
Williams: It's called "Dangerous Girls" [by Abigail Haas] and it's a murder mystery. It was really cool.
I'll also sometimes my friends and I will go get our nails done, we did that recently, or go shopping or to the movies or something. Basically just low-key activities that don't involve a ton of time walking or on my feet.
Frierson: What's the most creative thing you do — and what's the most satisfying thing about it?
Williams: There's a pottery place in Athens where you can actually spin your own clay. I did that and that was really fun. I'm not very good at art but I really like it. I'm looking forward to doing that again. That's the most creative thing I've ever done, I think, making my own pottery.
Frierson: You're obviously a very good multi-event athlete at Georgia and your older brother, Devon, is a very good multi-event athlete at Georgia. So what were things like around the house when you two were young? Were things really competitive between you two?
Williams: No, not really, probably because I knew that he would beat me. It was like there was no point in even having the competition. I think growing up we were all just really supportive of each other and my dad kind of instilled in us that we have to stick together.
[Devon's] one of the reasons I came here and I really like to have him around.
Frierson: Georgia is very appreciative of that, I'm sure. What are one or two things that you learned or were introduced to in 2015 — from a movie you really loved to a band to a life lesson — that you're still incredibly grateful for today?
Williams: I think getting injured last year really taught me a lot. Last year I fell and I ended up spraining my ankle really bad and so I couldn't compete in the home meet [Bulldog Decathlon/Heptathlon]. And then I went to the Drake Relays to try to get my qualifier for NCAAs and I actually ended up no-heighting [failing to clear a height] in the high jump, which was a first for me.
The injury, which was a first for me, and then no-heighting, which was a first, so it kind of took me back a little bit. It was a very humbling experience, not that I was arrogant, but it was very humbling to kind of see that, OK, in this sport you can be on your high horse and all of a sudden you've got to try to get back up there.
I learned a lot by watching [Quintunya Chapman] compete at the home meet, for example, where she broke the school record [in the heptathlon]. So that was really exciting, to kind of take a moment and just watch everybody around me. Of course my competitors were improving while I was taking a rest, so I just knew that when I got back in it I had to work a lot harder, get back on my rehab, try to eat better and just the little things like that along the way that you pick up while you're injured. Those are the things I'm thankful for.
Frierson: I would imagine having to come back like that may have given you a sense of urgency that you wouldn't otherwise have had? Suddenly you were having to make up for some lost time.
Williams: Absolutely. Over the summer I didn't do any meets after the NCAAs, just to give my ankle some time to heal. But once I started feeling better I was running every day, waking up at like 6 and going to run and then going back in the afternoon and running some more and doing some core [workouts]. I was just excited to get the season started.
[The injury] forced me to taking some time off, which ended up benefitting me. It got me excited and refreshed for the next season.
Frierson: If you could have played any other sport for the Bulldogs, what would it be?
Williams: I think I would want to play volleyball. I never got to play it growing up, but it looks like so much fun and it's such a team sport.
Frierson: Surely an athlete of your stature could get a tryout.
Williams: That would be so cool. I don't think I'm coordinated enough to hit the ball and move like they do. It would take a lot of practice to become good at volleyball.
John Frierson is the staff writer for the UGA Athletic Association and curator of the ITA Men's Tennis Hall of Fame. You can find his work at: Frierson Files. He's also on Twitter: @FriersonFiles and @ITAHallofFame.
Players Mentioned
