Bernard Williams (sprinter)

Bernard Williams

Williams during Keien Meeting 2007
Personal information
Full name Bernard Rollen Williams III
National team  United States
Born (1978-01-19) January 19, 1978
Baltimore, Maryland
Residence Gainesville, Florida
Height 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)
Weight 178 lb (81 kg)
Sport
Sport Track and field
Event(s) 100 meters, 200 meters
College team University of Florida
Coached by Mike Holloway
Achievements and titles
Personal best(s)

100m: 9.94 (2001)

200m: 20.01 (2004)
Medal record
Men's track and field
Representing the United States
Olympic Games
2000 Sydney 4×100 m relay
2004 Athens 200 m
World Championships
2003 Paris 4×100 m relay
2001 Edmonton 100 m
Disqualified 2001 Edmonton 4×100 m relay[1]
Pan American Games
1999 Winnipeg 100 m

Bernard Rollen Williams III (/bərˈnɑːrd/ bər-NARD; born January 19, 1978) is an American track and field athlete and winner of a gold medal in 4×100-meters relay at the 2000 Summer Olympics.

Biography

Born in Baltimore, Maryland, Bernard Williams won the 100 meters at the 1999 Pan-American Games.

Williams accepted an athletic scholarship to attend the University of Florida in Gainesville, Florida, where he was a member of the Florida Gators track and field team. He graduated from the university with a bachelor's degree in sociology in 2008.

In 2000, Williams won the NCAA Championships in the 100 meters as a Florida Gator sprinter and ran the second leg on the gold medal-winning American 4x100-meters relay team at the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney.

At the 2001 World Championships, Williams finished third but was given the Silver medal for the 100 meters when (Tim Montgomery) was discovered to have used steroids. Williams also ran the second leg on the American 4x100-meters relay team, which won the gold medal. The team's gold medals were withdrawn when Tim Montgomery was discovered to have used steroids.

In 2003, Williams won the US National Championships in 100 meters and was fifth in 100 meters at the 2003 World Championships. He was also a member of gold medal-winning American relay team. He tested positive for cannabis and received a warning from the USADA in August 2004, but was still able to compete in the Olympics in accordance with IAAF rules.[2]

At the 2004 Summer Olympics, Williams won the silver medal in 200 meters, edging compatriot and 100 meters champion Justin Gatlin in the final few meters. Thus, Americans won all three top places, since Shawn Crawford won the gold.

Bernard works as a Sports Performance Coach in the Maryland, Washington D.C, and Virginia area. He also works as a standup comedian whenever hired. He was noted for his comedy antics during the 2000 Olympics, including using the people's eyebrow. Also, known for his pre race antics and poses playing to any crowd which has inspired recent Olympic champions such as Usain Bolt.

He is currently the sprinting coach for Oak Hall School's track and field team.

Personal bests

Event Time (seconds) Venue Date
55 meters 6.20 Gainesville, Florida, United States February 6, 2000
60 meters 6.56 Colorado Springs, Colorado, United States February 12, 1999
100 meters 9.94 Edmonton, Canada August 5, 2001
200 meters 20.01 Brussels, Belgium August 24, 2001

See also

References

  1. ↑ Teammate Tim Montgomery was later found to have used performance-enhancing drugs and the IAAF disqualified the team.
  2. ↑ Williams tested positive. BBC Sport (2004-08-09). Retrieved on 2009-04-09.
Achievements
Preceded by
United States Shawn Crawford
Greece Konstadinos Kederis		 Men's 200m Best Year Performance
2003 		Succeeded by
United States Shawn Crawford
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