| Archie Williams |
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| CATEGORIES ABOUT ARCHIE WILLIAMS | |
| 1915 births | |
| williams, archie | |
| 1993 deaths | |
| american track and field athletes | |
| olympic gold medalists for the united states | |
| athletes at the 1936 summer olympics | |
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Born in Oakland, California , Archie Williams had one great year but he did more in that one year than many athletes achieve in a lifetime. Williams attended San Mateo Junior College (now College Of San Mateo ). His coach, Dr. Oliver Byrd , was instrumental in preparing him for future achievements. Soon Williams transferred to the University Of California, Berkeley to become a mechanical engineer and he continued to run track. Until 1936 , Williams had never broken 49 seconds for the 440 Yd (402 m). During 1936, however, Williams kept lowering his times and reached his peak at the NCAA championships, setting a World Record in 400 m of 46.1. His time was set in the preliminaries and he also prevailed in the final for a 47.0 victory. He followed that up with a first in the Olympic Trials, then went to Berlin and won the Olympic gold medal in the 400 m. A serious leg injury ended his running career a year later but he became a commercial pilot. During World War II , Williams was a pilot in the Air Force and retired from the military 22 years later as a lieutenant colonel. A flight instructor while in the Air Force, Williams remained in education following his military retirement and taught mathematics and computers in California high schools. Archie Williams was a teacher for 21 years until his retirement at age 72 in Sir Francis Drake High School in San Anselmo . His love for teaching and helping students was legendary. Archie Williams died in Fairfax, California . EXTERNAL LINK |
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