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

Olympic Olympic or Olympics may refer to Sports Competitions * Olympic Games, international multi-sport event held since 1896 ** Summer Olympic Games ** Winter Olympic Games * Ancient Olympic Games, ancient multi-sport event held in Olympia, Greece b ...

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

Basseterre Basseterre (; Saint Kitts Creole: ''Basterre'') is the 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 western coast of Saint Kit ...

, 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 slightl ...

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 conteste ...

personal best time of 10.11 s from a 6th-place finish at the

1988 Olympic Games 1988 Olympics refers to both: *The 1988 Winter Olympics, which were held in Calgary, Alberta, Canada *The 1988 Summer Olympics The 1988 Summer Olympics (), officially known as the Games of the XXIV Olympiad () and commonly known as Seoul ...

Seoul Seoul (; ; ), officially known as the Seoul Special City, is the capital and largest metropolis of South Korea.Before 1972, Seoul was the ''de jure'' capital of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (North Korea) as stated iArticle 103 of ...

South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korean Peninsula and sharing a land border with North Korea. Its western border is formed by the Yellow Sea, while its eas ...

. Williams trained with the Scarborough Optimists Track Club, which was affiliated with the

Ben Johnson Ben, Benjamin or Benny Johnson may refer to: In sports Association football * Ben Johnson (footballer, born 2000), English footballer * Ben Johnson (soccer) (born 1977), American soccer player Other codes of football *Ben Johnson (Australian foot ...

scandal. Club coach

Charlie Francis Charles Merrick Francis (October 13, 1948 – May 12, 2010) was a Canadian Olympic sprinter and sprint coach most noteworthy for being the trainer of sprinter Ben Johnson, the first competitor to be stripped of an Olympic gold medal for using ban ...

, working with Dr. Jamie Astaphan, had supplied performance-enhancing drugs to Johnson, Williams, Tony Sharpe, Angella Taylor,

Mark McKoy Mark Anthony McKoy (born December 10, 1961) is a Canadian retired track and field athlete. He won the gold medal in the 110 metres hurdles at the 1992 Barcelona Olympics. He also won the 60 metres hurdles title at the 1993 IAAF World Indoor Cha ...

, 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 competing in the East Division of the Canadian Football League (CFL), based in Toronto, Ontario ...

, training Olympic athletes

Tremaine Harris Tremaine Harris (born February 10, 1992) is a Canadian track and field athlete who specializes in the sprint distances. He is of Jamaican descent and is fluent in English and French. His personal best for the 200 m (20.22 seconds) is the sixth fas ...

Phylicia George Phylicia George (born November 16, 1987) is a Canadian Olympic track and field athlete and bobsledder. Career Hurdles George competed at the 2011 World Championships in Daegu, South Korea reaching the final in the 100m hurdles. She went on to ...

. and

Justyn Warner Justyn Warner, (born June 28, 1987) is a Canadian track athlete specializing in the 100 metres. He is the former Canadian Junior record holder at that distance with a time of 10.26. He anchored the Canadian 4 × 100 m relay team to a third-place f ...

, 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 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.https://www.cbc.ca/sports/olympics/summer/trackandfield/desai-williams-obit-1.6417244

International competitions

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Williams, Desai 1959 births 2022 deaths Canadian male sprinters Olympic track and field athletes of 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 Commonwealth Games medallists in athletics 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 Ben Johnson doping case Canadian sportspeople in doping cases Doping cases in athletics Clemson Tigers men's track and field athletes 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) Universiade silver medalists for Canada Medalists at the 1983 Summer Universiade Medallists at the 1982 Commonwealth Games Medallists at the 1986 Commonwealth Games

International competitions

See also

References

Further reading