Percy Williams (sprinter)
Percy Williams at the 1928 Olympics
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| Personal information | |||||||||||||||||||
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| Born | May 19, 1908 Vancouver, Canada |
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| Died | November 29, 1982 (aged 74) Vancouver, Canada |
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| Height | 1.70 m (5 ft 7 in) | ||||||||||||||||||
| Weight | 56 kg (123 lb) | ||||||||||||||||||
| Sport | |||||||||||||||||||
| Sport | Sprint running | ||||||||||||||||||
| Club | Vancouver Athletic Club | ||||||||||||||||||
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Medal record
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Percy Alfred Williams,OC (May 19, 1908 – November 29, 1982) was a Canadian athlete, winner of the 100 m and 200 m races at the 1928 Summer Olympics and a former world record holder for the 100 metres sprint.
At the age of 15 Williams suffered from rheumatic fever and was advised to avoid strenuous physical activities. However, as his high school required participation in athletic competitions, he started training in sprint in 1924 and by 1927 became a local champion.
At the 1928 Olympic trials he won the 100 m and 200 m races, equaling the Olympic 100 m record of 10.6 seconds.
To earn his travel ticket for the trials Wiliams and his volunteer coach Bob Granger worked as waiters and dishwashers in a dining car, and Vancouver track fans raised the money to pay Granger's transatlantic ship passage to the 1928 Olympics. At the Olympics Williams won both the 100 m and 200 m races. He was also part of the Canadian team which was disqualified in the final of the 4×100 metre relay contest.
Williams showed that his success was not an accident, winning the 100 yard dash at the inaugural British Empire Games (now known as the Commonwealth Games) in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada, and setting a World Record at a meet in Toronto in 1930. He suffered a pulled thigh muscle at the British Empire Games and never made a full comeback. At the 1932 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles, he was eliminated in the semi-finals of the 100 metre event. With the Canadian team he finished fourth in the 4×100 metre relay competition. Subsequently, Williams stopped running and became an insurance agent.
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