Williams, Percy

Percy Williams, (born May 19, 1908, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada—died November 29, 1982, Vancouver), Canadian sprinter, winner of two upset gold medals at the 1928 Olympic Games in Amsterdam. He was the first sprinter not from the United States to win two gold medals at one Olympics.

When Williams was 15 years old, he suffered from rheumatic fever and was told to avoid strenuous exercise. Nevertheless, he became a sprinter and in 1928 ran the 100-metre dash in 10.6 seconds to win a place on the Canadian Olympic team. At those Games the slightly built 20-year-old tied the Olympic record in the second round of the 100-metre dash. In the final race, he led from the beginning; his victory was so unexpected that the medal ceremony had to be delayed while officials searched for a Canadian flag. In the 200-metre dash he came from behind to win his second gold medal of the Games. His success continued into 1930, when he won the 100-metre dash in the Canadian championships while setting a world record of 10.3 seconds. In the same year, he finished first in the 100 yards in the first British Empire Games (now called Commonwealth Games), held in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada.