Shaun Phillip Williams (born December 5, 1976, in

Pretoria Pretoria ( ; ) is the Capital of South Africa, administrative capital of South Africa, serving as the seat of the Executive (government), executive branch of government, and as the host to all foreign embassies to the country. Pretoria strad ...

) is a retired amateur South African freestyle wrestler, who competed in the men's featherweight category. Williams has claimed three medals (two silver and one bronze) at the

All-Africa Games The African Games, formally known as the All-Africa Games or the Pan African Games, are a continental multi-sport event held every four years, organized by the African Union with the Association of National Olympic Committees of Africa and the ...

, picked up a bronze in the 55-kg division at the

2002 Commonwealth Games The 2002 Commonwealth Games, officially known as the XVII Commonwealth Games and commonly known as Manchester 2002, were an international multi-sport event for the members of the Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth held in Manchester, England, ...

Manchester Manchester () is a city and the metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester, England. It had an estimated population of in . Greater Manchester is the third-most populous metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, with a population of 2.92&nbs ...

, and later represented his nation

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...

, as a lone wrestler, at the

2004 Summer Olympics The 2004 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXVIII Olympiad (), and officially branded as Athens 2004 (), were an international multi-sport event held from 13 to 29 August 2004 in Athens, Greece. The Games saw 10,625 athletes ...

. Williams also trained for the

University of Oregon The University of Oregon (UO, U of O or Oregon) is a Public university, public research university in Eugene, Oregon, United States. Founded in 1876, the university is organized into nine colleges and schools and offers 420 undergraduate and gra ...

's freestyle wrestling team, under his coach Pat Whidcomb, while studying and attending college in the United States. Williams emerged himself into the international spotlight at the

Manchester, United Kingdom Manchester () is a city and the metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester, England. It had an estimated population of in . Greater Manchester is the third-most populous metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, with a population of 2.92&nbs ...

, where he took home the bronze medal in the men's featherweight division (55 kg). The following year, Williams continued to produce another sporting success by bringing home the African championship title in freestyle wrestling, and by ending up eleventh in the same class at the

2003 World Wrestling Championships The following is the final results of the 2003 World Wrestling Championships. The Freestyle Competition was held in New York City, New York (state), New York, while the Greco-Roman Competition was held in Créteil, France. Medal table Team ranki ...

New York City, New York New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on New York Harbor, one of the world's largest natural harb ...

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

, which earned him a ticket to compete for the South African Olympic team. At the

Athens Athens ( ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Greece, largest city of Greece. A significant coastal urban area in the Mediterranean, Athens is also the capital of the Attica (region), Attica region and is the southe ...

, Williams qualified as a lone wrestler for the South African squad in the men's featherweight class (55 kg), by receiving a berth and rounding out the top eleven spot from the World Championships. He lost his opening bout against Bulgaria's

Radoslav Velikov Radoslav Marinov Velikov (; born 2 September 1983 in Kutsina, Veliko Tarnovo Province) is a Bulgarian freestyle wrestler. He has been engaged in wrestling since 1997 and he currently competes for Levski Sofia, where his coach ...

because of the ten-point superiority limit, and could not gain enough points to outclass China's Li Zhengyu in a sudden-death match 4–5, leaving Williams on the bottom of the prelim pool and finishing seventeenth overall in the final standings. After his retirement from the sport in late 2007, Williams worked as the wrestling head coach for Hermiston High School in

Hermiston, Oregon Hermiston () is a city in Umatilla County, Oregon, Umatilla County, Oregon, United States. Its population of 20,322 makes it the largest city in Eastern Oregon. Hermiston is the largest and fastest-growing city in the Pendleton-Hermiston micropo ...

. In late 2015, Williams moved to Spokane, Washington, and began work for Central Valley High School in Spokane Valley, Washington, where he started a new role as a resource education teacher, in addition to his role serving as the school’s current wrestling head coach.

References

External links

Profile – International Wrestling Database
1976 births Living people South African male sport wrestlers Olympic wrestlers for South Africa Wrestlers at the 2004 Summer Olympics Commonwealth Games bronze medallists for South Africa Wrestlers at the 2002 Commonwealth Games Martial artists from Pretoria Oregon Ducks wrestlers University of Oregon alumni Commonwealth Games bronze medallists in wrestling People from Hermiston, Oregon African Games silver medalists for South Africa African Games bronze medalists for South Africa African Games bronze medalists in wrestling African Games silver medalists in wrestling Wrestlers at the 2003 All-Africa Games 20th-century South African people 21st-century South African people Medallists at the 2002 Commonwealth Games Medalists at the 1995 All-Africa Games Medalists at the 1999 All-Africa Games Medalists at the 2003 All-Africa Games {{SouthAfrica-wrestling-bio-stub

See also

References

External links