Empson Othman Desai Williams (June 12, 1959 – April 10, 2022) was a Canadian sprinter, who won an Olympic

bronze medal A bronze medal in sports and other similar areas involving competition is a medal made of bronze awarded to the third-place finisher of contests or competitions such as the Olympic Games, Commonwealth Games, etc. The outright winner receives ...

in 4 x 100 metres relay in Los Angeles 1984. He was born in

Basseterre Basseterre (; Saint Kitts Creole: ''Basterre'') is the Capital (political), capital and largest city of Saint Kitts and Nevis with an estimated population of 14,000 in 2018. Geographically, the Basseterre port is located at , on the south-wester ...

, St. Kitts and Nevis. Competing at the first two World Championships, where he reached the semi-final (1983 and 1987), he set his personal best

200 metres The 200 metres, or 200-meter dash, is a sprint running event. On an outdoor 400-metre racetrack, the race begins on the curve and ends on the home straight, so a combination of techniques is needed to successfully run the race. A slight ...

time with 20.29 s in 1983 and his

100 metres The 100 metres, or 100-meter dash, is a sprint race in track and field competitions. The shortest common outdoor running distance, the dash is one of the most popular and prestigious events in the sport of athletics. It has been contested at ...

personal best time of 10.11 s from a 6th-place finish at the 1988 Olympic Games in

Seoul Seoul, officially Seoul Special Metropolitan City, is the capital city, capital and largest city of South Korea. The broader Seoul Metropolitan Area, encompassing Seoul, Gyeonggi Province and Incheon, emerged as the world's List of cities b ...

South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the southern half of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and borders North Korea along the Korean Demilitarized Zone, with the Yellow Sea to the west and t ...

. Williams trained with the Scarborough Optimists Track Club, which was affiliated with the Ben Johnson scandal. Club coach Charlie Francis, working with Dr. Jamie Astaphan, had supplied performance-enhancing drugs to Johnson, Williams, Tony Sharpe, Angella Taylor, Mark McKoy, and others. Williams also worked as the speed coach for the

Toronto Argonauts The Toronto Argonauts (officially the Toronto Argonaut Football Club and colloquially known as the Argos) are a professional Canadian football team based in Toronto, Ontario. The Argonauts compete in the East Division (CFL), East Division of t ...

, training Olympic athletes Tremaine Harris, Phylicia George. and Justyn Warner, among others. Williams was fired as a coach by Athletics Canada in 2015. A probe found that Williams had violated the organization's

sexual harassment Sexual harassment is a type of harassment based on the sex or gender of a victim. It can involve offensive sexist or sexual behavior, verbal or physical actions, up to bribery, coercion, and assault. Harassment may be explicit or implicit, wit ...

policy while a coach in 2010. In 2018, he was handed a lifetime ban by Athletics Canada. Williams died of a heart attack on April 10, 2022 at the age of 62.

International competitions

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Williams, Desai 1959 births 2022 deaths Canadian male sprinters Olympic track and field athletes for Canada Olympic bronze medalists for Canada Medalists at the 1984 Summer Olympics Athletes (track and field) at the 1984 Summer Olympics Athletes (track and field) at the 1988 Summer Olympics Pan American Games track and field athletes for Canada Athletes (track and field) at the 1979 Pan American Games Athletes (track and field) at the 1983 Pan American Games Commonwealth Games gold medallists for Canada Commonwealth Games silver medallists for Canada Athletes (track and field) at the 1978 Commonwealth Games Athletes (track and field) at the 1982 Commonwealth Games Athletes (track and field) at the 1986 Commonwealth Games World Athletics Championships athletes for Canada Canadian sportspeople in doping cases Doping cases in athletics Clemson Tigers men's track and field athletes Black Canadian sportsmen Black Canadian track and field athletes Saint Kitts and Nevis emigrants to Canada People from Basseterre Olympic bronze medalists in athletics (track and field) Universiade medalists in athletics (track and field) FISU World University Games silver medalists for Canada Medalists at the 1983 Summer Universiade Medallists at the 1982 Commonwealth Games Medallists at the 1986 Commonwealth Games Canadian Track and Field Championships winners 20th-century Canadian sportsmen Commonwealth Games gold medallists in athletics Commonwealth Games silver medallists in athletics

International competitions

See also

References

Further reading