Two-time Olympian Desai Williams dies at age 62
Williams was a member of Canada's 4x100m relay team that won bronze at the 1984 Olympics in Los Angeles
Canadian two-time Olympian sprinter Desai Williams died over the weekend at the age of 62. The cause of death has not been released.
Williams’s famous accolade comes from being a member of Canada’s 4x100m relay that won bronze at the 1984 Olympics in Los Angeles. He was also sixth in one of the dirtiest Olympic finals to date, the 100 metres at the 1988 Olympics in Seoul, which saw teammate Ben Johnson stripped of his gold medal after a positive doping test for stanozolol, an anabolic steroid.
Years later, it was revealed that every sprinter in that final had been caught using illegal substances at one time or another, including Williams.
The sprinter reached the semifinals in the 100 metres at the 1983 and 1987 World Championships and held a personal best of 20.29 in the 200m and 10.11 over 100m.
Williams was born in Basseterre, Saint Kitts and Nevis, and played soccer before switching to track in high school. He went on to run track at Clemson University in South Carolina. Williams became a national team sprint coach after his competitive career ended, as well as a speed coach for the Toronto Argonauts of the CFL.
In 2018, Williams was given a lifetime coaching ban from Athletics Canada after an investigation that found he’d violated the organization’s sexual harassment policy in 2010.
During his career, Williams trained with the Scarborough Optimists Track Club, whose coach Charlie Francis, working with Dr. Jamie Astaphan, had supplied performance-enhancing drugs to Johnson, Williams, Tony Sharpe, Angella Taylor (who later went by Issajenko), and Mark McKoy.
Check out the latest buyer's guide:
