William Collins (born November 20, 1950) is an American sprinter, originally running for Mount Vernon High School in

Westchester County Westchester County is a county located in the southeastern portion of the U.S. state of New York, bordering the Long Island Sound and the Byram River to its east and the Hudson River on its west. The county is the seventh most populous cou ...

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...

, where he won four state titlesMarc Bloom Running
and later at

Texas Christian University Texas Christian University (TCU) is a private university, private research university in Fort Worth, Texas, United States. It was established in 1873 by brothers Addison Clark, Addison and Randolph Clark as the AddRan Male & Female College. It i ...

where he achieved "All-American" status.RUNNING NOTEBOOK: Houstonian enjoys year for the ages , Outdoors , Chron.com - Houston Chronicle
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Biography

In 1976 he managed to make the finals in the

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 ...

at the United States Olympic Trials, finishing last which qualified him for the relay pool, though he never ran in the

Olympics The modern Olympic Games (Olympics; ) are the world's preeminent international sporting events. They feature summer and winter sports competitions in which thousands of athletes from around the world participate in a variety of competit ...

. He did make the USA 4x100 relay team that won at the first ever

1977 IAAF World Cup The 1st IAAF World Cup in Athletics was an international track and field sporting event sponsored by the International Association of Athletics Federations, held from 2 to 4 September 1977, at the Rheinstadion in Düsseldorf, West Germany. Ove ...

. That team's 38.03 was the

world record A world record is usually the best global and most important performance that is ever recorded and officially verified in a specific skill, sport, or other kind of activity. The book ''Guinness World Records'' and other world records organizatio ...

in the event for almost 6 years. He was ranked #7 in the US top ten at 200 metres in 1977 and 1975 At 100 metres he was near the bottom of the top ten 1974-1976 At the international

Pacific Conference Games The Pacific Conference Games were a quadrennial Athletics (sport), athletics competition, held between 1969 and 1985 and contested by Australia, Canada, Japan, New Zealand and the United States. Each of the five nations hosted an edition of the comp ...

in 1977 he won overtage 200 meters, and placed second over 100 meters, and he was on the winning 4 x 100 meters relay team. Collins has previously held three

Masters Athletics World Records Masters athletics is a class of the sport of athletics (sport), athletics for athletes of over 35 years of age. The events include track and field, road running and cross country running. These are the current world records in various five-year-gr ...

at the 100 metres, at the M40, M50 and M55 age classifications. Younger athletes who train with him and his Houston Elite Track Club at

Rice University William Marsh Rice University, commonly referred to as Rice University, is a Private university, private research university in Houston, Houston, Texas, United States. Established in 1912, the university spans 300 acres. Rice University comp ...

refer to him as "

Superman Superman is a superhero created by writer Jerry Siegel and artist Joe Shuster, which first appeared in the comic book ''Action Comics'' Action Comics 1, #1, published in the United States on April 18, 1938.The copyright date of ''Action Comics ...

." Indoors and outdoors, he has won numerous World and National Championships. In a class by himself he is rarely beaten, except when injured. In 2003 he was voted into the Masters Division of the

National Track and Field Hall of Fame National may refer to: Common uses * Nation or country ** Nationality – a ''national'' is a person who is subject to a nation, regardless of whether the person has full rights as a citizen Places in the United States * National, Maryland, c ...

. Geezerjock Magazine name him their inaugural "Geezerjock of the Year" in 2005. In 2007 he was named "

World Masters Athletics World Masters Athletics (WMA) is the worldwide governing body for the sport of masters athletics – which includes track and field, cross country, and road running events – as participated by people over 35 years of age. As the need became ...

Masters Athlete of the Year" which was presented at the

IAAF World Athletics, formerly known as the International Amateur Athletic Federation and International Association of Athletics Federations and formerly abbreviated as the IAAF, is the international sports governing body, governing body for the sport ...

gala in

Monaco Monaco, officially the Principality of Monaco, is a Sovereign state, sovereign city-state and European microstates, microstate on the French Riviera a few kilometres west of the Regions of Italy, Italian region of Liguria, in Western Europe, ...

. At his first major meet after turning 60, Collins set the world indoor record in the M60 200 metres and 400 metres. He was named USATF "Athlete of the Week" amongst all age divisions. He had received the same citation almost exactly five years earlier after his first major competition after entering the previous age division and setting world records. He co-authored, with Rick Riddle a book on Masters sprinting, "The Ageless Athletic Spirit: Training with a World Champion" In 2011, Collins suffered paralysis in his legs, rendering him unable to walk. It was later diagnosed as

Guillain–Barré syndrome Guillain–Barré syndrome (GBS) is a rapid-onset Paralysis, muscle weakness caused by the immune system damaging the peripheral nervous system. Typically, both sides of the body are involved, and the initial symptoms are changes in sensation ...

. As inexplicable as the disease's cause, was his recovery. After spending the 2011 season (when the

World Masters Athletics Championships The World Masters Athletics Championships are the biennial championships for masters athletics events held under the auspices of World Masters Athletics, formerly called the World Association of Veteran Athletes, for athletes 35 years of age or ...

were held in the United States) in a wheelchair, in early 2012 "Superman" came back to set a new indoor world record in the M60

60 metres 60 metres, or 60-meter dash, is a sprint event in track and field. It is a championship event for indoor championships, normally dominated by the best outdoor 100 metres runners. At indoor events, the 60 metres is run on lanes set out in the mi ...

at the USA Indoor Masters Championships.

Personal life

He is Married to his beautiful wife Stephanie Collins. Bill has five Children: His oldest and only daughter Alicia Collins, son Christopher Collins, Arte Collins, Lavon Collins and Aviante Collins.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Collins, Bill 1950 births American male sprinters American track and field coaches World record holders in masters athletics TCU Horned Frogs men's track and field athletes Rice University people American masters athletes Living people Sportspeople from Mount Vernon, New York Track and field athletes from Westchester County, New York Athletes (track and field) at the 1975 Pan American Games Medalists at the 1975 Pan American Games Pan American Games gold medalists for the United States in athletics (track and field) Mount Vernon High School (New York) alumni 20th-century American sportsmen