Who is Kendall Williams' brother? Devon Williams gave Olympics a miss due to hamstring injury
American track and field athlete Kendell Williams made her mark in the Javelin Throw round of the Women's Heptathlon in the Tokyo Olympics on Thursday, August 5 (local time). The two-time Olympian, who came in third in the Javelin Throw event, is scheduled to also participate in the 800 meters dash.
A graduate of Kell High School in Marietta in 2013, Williams received a public relations degree from the University of Georgia in 2017. She placed fifth in the 2019 World Championships heptathlon. The accomplished athlete who was named US Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches Association National Women's Field Athlete of the Year in 2016, however, is not the only athlete in the family.
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Who is Kendell Williams’ brother Devon Williams?
Devon is an American athlete who represented the US at the 2017 World Championships in London, where he finished tenth. He also wanted to represent the country in the Tokyo Olympic Games. Unfortunately, he couldn’t qualify due to injuries.
On June 27, Kendell finished second in the heptathlon at the US Track & Field Trials in Oregon. At the same trials, Devon did not fare well. Earlier this year, having had to deal with a hamstring injury, Devon completed four events on the first day of the decathlon but was unable to continue after injuring himself.
In a July interview with USA Today, Devon said that growing up in Marietta as multi-sport athletes, the siblings received more than their share of collegiate offers, and both said that they didn’t necessarily look at Georgia as their eventual landing place.
“Out of high school, I wanted to go to school out of state because I’m a Georgia boy and was raised here and wanted to go somewhere else and see some other part of the country,” said Devon. “But I went to look at my other options and then went to UGA to see what was in my back yard and I kind of fell in love with everything. It felt like UGA was calling me to be there. … It was the best decision I could have made.”
Kendell, a year behind her brother in school, said in the same interview, “From the start, like Devon, I wanted to branch out. I took lots of unofficial visits through California and the Southeast. And I had official visits to UGA, LSU, and Florida. I realized I wanted to be closer to home. I’d seen how much Devon had improved in one year and it was clear UGA was for me. I’m so happy I stayed in-state.”
“I didn’t know what I wanted to do academically coming into college,” said Devon. “I initially came in interested in business, but there were classes for that I needed to take that I didn’t want to take, so I ended up switching majors and that’s why I went into communications. I knew it was a broad major. I didn’t know what I wanted to do outside of sports, but I had some classes I did like and overall it was a good academic experience.”
“Lately I’ve been interested in real estate,” he said. “I’ve been taking a course to get my real estate license, but I’m also not trying to think too far down the road because I do have a few years left to maximize my athletic career. I’m still laser-focused on my athletic career, but in the back of my mind I’m still trying to move in the right direction so when I am done competing, I already have some sort of foundation for what I want to do afterward.”
“For us to go through this journey together and experience this life together -- with its ups and downs -- it’s nice to have someone who’s always in your corner,” said Kendell. “And it’s been great for our parents. They only had to wear one color at our meets.”