FEATURE
participate complicated flight connections and left her with very little time to recover from the transatlantic journey before hitting the track. “It was nerve-wracking because it was my first senior meet, and my first world meet since the 2018 Summer Youth Olympics,” she says. “I didn’t reach the hotel until 2am; I was so tired. I had to wake up at 6am for the pre-meet and then compete the next day. My legs were done. “But I got there and it was such a great experience having the opportunity to be on the world stage. I was grateful to be there.” Now, after her experience as the nation’s sole competitor in the prestigious championships in March, Soniya says she’s feeling better than ever. And she has her eyes firmly set on her next challenge – the 2028 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles. Smashing two personal bests earlier this year at an indoor meet in Indiana helped replenish her confidence. “I felt so good walking into that meet; I knew I had it. Practice had been going good, I was listening to my gospel music and I just knew, today is the day I’m going to do it,” she smiles. “In the prelims I ran the 60 metres in 7.45 seconds which was a school record. And then in the finals I ran 7.41, breaking that school record again. “This is the most confident I have ever felt in my track career. My mental space is great, body wise I feel good. I don’t know where the confidence came from, I think God gave it to me, but after that race I just continued to feel so much better.” Soniya, from All Saints Village, has been living in the US since January 2021. She graduated from Western Michigan University in December 2025 with a BSc in health and human services, and is studying to become a physical therapist. The daughter of two athletes – Olympic sprinter Sonia Williams and former national 400m champion Evans Jones – Soniya has been dreaming of sporting stardom since she was a small child. “I’ve always wanted to do track. In primary school, I ran at every sports day and I would always win. I kept bugging my dad, asking him to start training me,” she says. She began to train with her father, a regional athletics trainer, during her first year of secondary school. It soon reaped dividends, sending her to the 2016 Caribbean Union of Teachers “This is the most confident I have ever felt in my track career. My mental space is great, body wise I feel good. I don’t know where the confidence came from, I think God gave it to me, but after that race I just continued to feel so much better.”
Games in Tortola where Soniya’s team won a mixed relay. It was her first time representing Antigua – and it lit a fire inside her. These days, Soniya trains for up to four hours a day and says she carries her Antiguan flag everywhere she goes. She cites “hard work” and weightlifting as the secret sauce to becoming an accomplished athlete. “As a power sprinter, weights are key. Pushing past barriers in the weight room makes you so much better on the track,” she explains. Soniya’s ultimate goal is to open her own physical therapy business in Antigua. She also plans to act as a mentor for young track students, something she thinks there is a dearth of in the local athletics sector. But first, she has two more sporting goals ahead – the 2027 World Athletics Championships in Beijing, followed by the Olympics the year after. “I have wanted to be an Olympian all my life. My mum is an Olympian and I used to watch the Olympics as a child,” Soniya says. “That’s my dream – to walk in the opening ceremony, holding my Antiguan flag.” n By Gemma Handy
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