Steve Williams is a retired track and field

Track and field

Track and field is a sport comprising various competitive athletic contests based around the activities of running, jumping and throwing. The name of the sport derives from the venue for the competitions: a stadium which features an oval running track surrounding a grassy area...

 sprinter

Sprint (race)

Sprints are short running events in athletics and track and field. Races over short distances are among the oldest running competitions. The first 13 editions of the Ancient Olympic Games featured only one event—the stadion race, which was a race from one end of the stadium to the other...

 from the United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

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He won the 100 metres at the 1977 IAAF Athletics World Cup

1977 IAAF World Cup

The 1st IAAF World Cup in Athletics was an international track and field sporting event sponsored by the International Association of Athletics Federations, held on September 2–4, 1977, at the Rheinstadion in Düsseldorf, West Germany.-Men:|width="50"| ...

 in Dusseldorf

Düsseldorf

Düsseldorf is the capital city of the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia and centre of the Rhine-Ruhr metropolitan region.Düsseldorf is an important international business and financial centre and renowned for its fashion and trade fairs. Located centrally within the European Megalopolis, the...

 whilst representing the USA. He was also a member of the winning 4x100 metres USA relay team which set a new world record time of 38.03 seconds (World Record holder: William Collins

William Collins

William Collins may refer to:* William Collins , Bishop of Gibraltar in the Church of England* William Collins , English poet* William Collins , English landscape artist...

-Steve Riddick-Cliff Wiley

Cliff Wiley

Cliff Wiley is a former American track and field athlete, who competed in the sprints events during his career. He is best known for winning the men's 400 metres event at the 1983 Pan American Games in Caracas...

-Steve Williams. He also received a bronze medal as a member of the 4x100 metres USA relay team at the 1981 Athletics World Cup

1981 IAAF World Cup

The 3rd IAAF World Cup in Athletics was an international track and field sporting event sponsored by the International Association of Athletics Federations, held on September 4–6, 1981, at the Stadio Olimpico in Rome, Italy.-Men:|width="50"| ...

 in Rome

Rome

Rome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...

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At the peak of his career he was claimant to the title the world's fastest man.
He recorded four 9.9 seconds hand-timings for the 100 metres, so equalling the then world record (Men's 100 metres world record progression).

His chance of winning the 1976 Olympic 100 metres title was ruined by injury at the USA Olympics trials. He attempted to qualify in 1980 and 1984 for the Olympics but failed to make the qualification target of the top three finishers.

He is also known for setting the 1973 world's best year performance in the men's 200 metres

200 metres

A 200 metres race is a sprint running event. On an outdoor 400 m track, the race begins on the curve and ends on the home straight, so a combination of techniques are needed to successfully run the race. A slightly shorter race, called the stadion and run on a straight track, was the first...

. He did so on June 16, 1973 at a meet in Bakersfield, clocking 20.33.