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'Having a baby shouldn't stop you achieving your goals': Bianca Williams reveals 'tough four years' before Olympic silver
10 August 2024, 14:54 | Updated: 10 August 2024, 14:56
Bianca Williams has revealed she endured a 'tough four years' before clinching a silver medal as part of Team GB's 4x100m sprint team, as she urged fellow mothers that 'having a baby shouldn't stop you from achieving your goals'.
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Williams - who won Olympic silver as a squad member in Team GB's women's sprint relay team alongside Dina Asher-Smith, Imani Lansiquot, Amy Hunt Daryll Neita, and Desirèe Henry - said she was "over the moon" following Friday's final.
"It's been such a tough four years - because I had my son four years ago - so to even get back here was just a dream come true," she said.
Asked by LBC's Charlotte Lynch how it felt to be an inspiration to other mums and other female athletes, X said: "It's incredible. Having a baby shouldn't stop you from achieving your goals."
"I say it all the time - people always get overlooked when you've had a baby. They get told you can't do certain things, but that should never be the case.
"I feel like having a baby makes you stronger, and I'm living proof of that."
Team GB ladies win silver in the 4x100m relay
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Williams' Olympic dream was also thrown into jeopardy last year when she was banned from driving after failing on three occasions to tell police the identity of a driver alleged to have committed an offence while driving a Tesla Model 3.
The athlete, who submitted an application to try and keep her licence, noted before her ban that not driving would make it “massively inconvenient” for her to get to training.
But magistrates at Lavender Hill Magistrates’ Court in December, rejected her claim she could not use public transport and suspended her from driving for six months.
Two Metropolitan Police officers had in October been sacked over the stop and search of Ms Williams and her partner, the Portuguese sprinter Ricardo Dos Santos, 28, in 2020. The couple - who are black - claimed they were racially profiled.
A police misconduct hearing was told officers followed Mr Dos Santos in their police carrier because of the “appalling” and “suspicious” nature of his driving and were doing their duty when they conducted the stop and search.But the panel found two officers had lied about smelling cannabis.
Having pleaded guilty to three charges of failing to tell police the identity of a driver, Ms Williams told the court she was not driving the Tesla at the time of the alleged offences.
Representing herself, Ms Williams said she was currently working as a tennis coach in the evenings and as a full-time athlete during the day.
Speaking to LBC alongside her teammate, Team GB star Asher-Smith said their success at Paris 2024 was "testiment to the talents and the hard work of the entire squad throughout the year.
"We've become quite good at this now," she quipped. "This is our third Olympic medal. We're very consistent and when we step onto the track, the other teams know we are a force to be reckoned with. It's great to be on that podium again."
Neita - who narrowly missed out on a medal in the 100m final after coming fourth - said that she wanted to do "everything I can for these ladies and Great Britain".
"When I see that finish line, I'm just like: 'I'm coming for you'."
Lansiquot said it was "unbelievable" to be on the podium as she thanked fans for surrounding them with "so much love".
"To be stood here alongside these ladies is really special. Having looked up to all of them it really means a lot be alongside them right now," Amy Hunt added.
"It's all love. We're here for each other all the time."
Henry added: "It's a scary feeling. Usually I'm on the track so I was relinquishing all of my control. But at the same time, I felt that I just had so much trust and belief in the girls and it was such a relieving moment just to see Daryll cross the line.
"It just felt absolutely incredible, honestly."
Commenting on a policy change that now awards team members who ran in the heats - not only the final - a medal, Asher-Smith said: "it's such an incredible change that they've made. It's a team effort.
"Without the rest of the squad - and it's not only running the heats, it's about warming up, being a great energy, it's making sure everyone's feeling good, it's just being there and part of the squad. It's essential that everybody get's recognised.
"It's truly a team effort."
