Jeff Williams

Jeffrey "Jeff" Williams (born December 31, 1965) is an American former track and field athlete who specialized in the 200-meter dash. He was the bronze medalist at the 1995 World Championships in Athletics and reached the 200 m final at the 1996 Summer Olympics. He set an American record in the 200 m indoors in 1996. He was a late bloomer and attended his first world championship competition at the age of 29. Williams was unusual for an elite male runner at the time in that he had a female coach: 1968 Olympic gold medallist Barbara Ferrell. Career College Born in Los Angeles, California, Williams attended Washington Preparatory High School and graduated from Los Angeles City College in 1985. He joined Prairie View A&M University and began playing football for the Prairie View A&M Panthers. The team coach noticed his speed and asked if Williams would join the track team. He recorded bests of 10.3 seconds in the 100 meters and a wind-assisted 20.85 seconds in the 200 m during his time at Prairie View and was sixth in the heats of the 200 m of the NCAA Men's Outdoor Track and Field Championship.