Name Barton Williams | Role Olympic athlete | |
Education California Polytechnic State University | ||
Barton Williams (born September 20, 1956 in Mare Island, California) is an American former hurdler. He attended California Polytechnic State University (Cal Poly-San Luis Obispo) from 1975–1979. Williams is one of Cal Poly's all-time greatest track and field athletes.
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Career
Barton Williams is a member of the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association NCAA Division II Track & Field Athlete Hall of Fame. Bart Williams represented the U.S. in 10 international competitions, held several CAL POLY School records, including one NCAA Division II 400IH record. He also was recipient of the 2005 Distinguished alumnus Cal Poly Track & Field Award and California State Assembly Resolution Award For Outstanding Athlete 1979. Williams was the cross country running coach at Vallejo High School in Vallejo, California. He has coached track at Contra Costa College in Richmond, CA.
In 1979, Bart was one of only a few athletes to be All American in both NCAA Division I & II track and field events. Barton Williams was the first athlete from Vallejo, CA to participate on an Olympic Team. when he qualified for the 1980 U.S. Olympic team. He was unable to compete due to President Jimmy Carter's decision to boycott the 1980 Olympic Games in Moscow, U.S.S.R. because the Soviet Union had invaded Afghanistan in December of 1979. Barton Williams was an assistant coach for the U.S. World University Games team in China, in 2001. He coached the men's hurdles and the horizontal jumps. In 2007, he received one of 461 Congressional Gold Medals created especially for the spurned athletes.