Willie Williams (September 12, 1931 – February 27, 2019) was an American
sprinter who set the
100 metres world record in 1956 with a new time of 10.1s, one-tenth of a second faster than the record held jointly by 8 men.
Biography
Williams grew up in
Gary, Indiana
Gary ( ) is a city in Lake County, Indiana, United States. The population was 69,093 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it Indiana's List of municipalities in Indiana, eleventh-most populous city. The city has been historical ...
, attending
Roosevelt High School where he played
football
Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...
and was first in the state in the 100m as a senior. He attended the
University of Illinois
The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (UIUC, U of I, Illinois, or University of Illinois) is a public university, public land-grant university, land-grant research university in the Champaign–Urbana metropolitan area, Illinois, United ...
, from which he gained a degree in physical education. He was in the U.S. army in special services when he broke the world record at the International Military Track Meet in
West Berlin
West Berlin ( or , ) was a political enclave which comprised the western part of Berlin from 1948 until 1990, during the Cold War. Although West Berlin lacked any sovereignty and was under military occupation until German reunification in 1 ...
in August 1956. He left the army later that year, and became athletics director at
Ogden Park
Ogden Park, also known as Ogden Skating Park, was a recreational facility on the near north side of Chicago around the 1860s and 1870s. It was home to the Ogden Skating Club. It was on a piece of land east of where Ontario Street (at that time) T-e ...
, Chicago, before teaching and coaching sports in his home town. He became head track coach at
West Side High School, then in 1982 returned to the University of Illinois to coach track. Although he trained the
Saudi Arabian Olympic track team in the summer of 1988 for the
Seoul Olympics, he declined the opportunity to move to
Saudi Arabia
Saudi Arabia, officially the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), is a country in West Asia. Located in the centre of the Middle East, it covers the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula and has a land area of about , making it the List of Asian countries ...
and stayed with Illinois, becoming associate head coach in 1997 before retiring in 2000.
He resided in
Urbana, Illinois
Urbana ( ) is a city in Champaign County, Illinois, United States, and its county seat. As of the 2020 census, Urbana had a population of 38,336. It is a principal city of the Champaign–Urbana metropolitan area, which had 236,000 residents i ...
. Williams died on February 27, 2019, at the age of 87.
Illini legend passes away
/ref>
References
External links
on FightingIllini.com
1931 births
2019 deaths
American male sprinters
World record setters in athletics (track and field)
Sportspeople from Gary, Indiana
Track and field athletes from Indiana
University of Illinois alumni
African-American track and field athletes
Athletes (track and field) at the 1955 Pan American Games
Medalists at the 1955 Pan American Games
Pan American Games gold medalists for the United States in athletics (track and field)
Pan American Games bronze medalists for the United States in athletics (track and field)
20th-century African-American sportsmen
21st-century African-American sportsmen
NCAA Division I Outdoor Track and Field Championships winners
Illinois Fighting Illini men's track and field athletes
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