For New Zealand international, see Percy Williams (rugby league). Medal record Percy Williams (centre) Men's athletics Competitor for  Canada Olympic Games Gold 1928 Amsterdam 100 metres Gold 1928 Amsterdam 200 metres British Empire Games Gold 1930 Hamilton 100 yards Percy Alfred Williams, OC (May 19, 1908 – November 29, 1982) was a Canadian athlete, winner of the 100 m and 200 m races at the 1928 Summer Olympics. Biography Williams was born in Vancouver and he died in Vancouver. Williams surprised many when he won the Canadian trials and was sent out to the 1928 Olympics in Amsterdam at age 20. To his surprise, he found out that he could easily advance to the final of the 100 m event. A good start in the final gave Williams the early advantage to win the race. He repeated his performance in the 200 m to come home with two gold medals - cheered by thousands of enthusiastic Canadians. He was also a member of the Canadian team which was disqualified in the final of the 4×100 metre relay contest.

He showed that his success was not an accident, winning the 100 yard dash at the inaugural British Empire Games (now known as the Commonwealth Games) in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada, and setting a World Record in 1930. He suffered a pulled thigh muscle while setting the world record at the British Empire Games. He never made a full comeback.1 . At the 1932 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles, he was eliminated in the semi-finals of the 100 metre event. With the Canadian team he finished fourth in the 4×100 metre relay competition. Subsequently, Williams stopped running and became an insurance agent.

In 1979 he was made an Officer of the Order of Canada. Williams lived with his mother until she died in 1977. After that, he lived alone and suffered in constant arthritic pain. Percy Williams was a great collector of guns and shot himself in the head, ironically with a gun he had been awarded in the 1928 as a prize for his Olympics. No note was left, it was a surprise to everyone, the media at the time decided not to publisize his death for a few years. 2 In 1950 a Canadian press poll proclaimed Percy Williams Canada's greatest track athlete of the first half of the century. They updated that in 1972 to delclair him our all time greatest Olympic athlete. He had donated in 2 gold medals from the 1928 Olympics to the BC Sports Hall of Fame, saying that he wanted them to be seen and remembered. With in weeks they were stolen. It was said at the time that Percy Williams the fastest man of his generation simply shruged off the loss and no replacements were ever issued References ^ CBC, 2010 Commonwealth Games, Opening Ceremonies, circa 20 minute mark, airdate 3 October 2010, 9:00am-12:00pm (Eastern), CBC Television main broadcast network ^ "Percy Williams". History by the Minute. Historica. http://www.histori.ca/minutes/minute.do?id=14336. Retrieved 2008-08-20.  v · d · eOlympic Champions in Men's 100 m

1896: Tom Burke (USA)  • 1900: Frank Jarvis (USA)  • 1904: Archie Hahn (USA)  • 1908: Reggie Walker (RSA)  • 1912: Ralph Craig (USA)  • 1920: Charlie Paddock (USA)  • 1924: Harold Abrahams (GBR)  • 1928: Percy Williams (CAN)  • 1932: Eddie Tolan (USA)  • 1936: Jesse Owens (USA)  • 1948: Harrison Dillard (USA)  • 1952: Lindy Remigino (USA)  • 1956: Bobby Joe Morrow (USA)  • 1960: Armin Hary (GER)  • 1964: Bob Hayes (USA)  • 1968: Jim Hines (USA)  • 1972: Valeri Borzov (URS)  • 1976: Hasely Crawford (TRI)  • 1980: Allan Wells (GBR)  • 1984: Carl Lewis (USA)  • 1988: Carl Lewis (USA)  • 1992: Linford Christie (GBR)  • 1996: Donovan Bailey (CAN)  • 2000: Maurice Greene (USA)  • 2004: Justin Gatlin (USA)  • 2008: Usain Bolt (JAM) v · d · eOlympic Champions in Men's 200 m

1900: Walter Tewksbury (USA)  · 1904: Archie Hahn (USA)  · 1908: Bobby Kerr (CAN)  · 1912: Ralph Craig (USA)  · 1920: Allen Woodring (USA)  · 1924: Jackson Scholz (USA)  · 1928: Percy Williams (CAN)  · 1932: Eddie Tolan (USA)  · 1936: Jesse Owens (USA)  · 1948: Mel Patton (USA)  · 1952: Andy Stanfield (USA)  · 1956: Bobby Joe Morrow (USA)  · 1960: Livio Berruti (ITA)  · 1964: Henry Carr (USA)  · 1968: Tommie Smith (USA)  · 1972: Valeri Borzov (URS)  · 1976: Don Quarrie (JAM)  · 1980: Pietro Mennea (ITA)  · 1984: Carl Lewis (USA)  · 1988: Joe DeLoach (USA)  · 1992: Michael Marsh (USA)  · 1996: Michael Johnson (USA)  · 2000: Konstantinos Kenteris (GRE)  · 2004: Shawn Crawford (USA)  · 2008: Usain Bolt (JAM) v · d · eCommonwealth Champions in Men's 100 m 1930 – 1966: 100 yards  •  1970 – 2006: 100 metres

 1930: Percy Williams (CAN) •  1934: Arthur Sweeney (ENG) •  1938: Cyril Holmes (ENG) •  1950: John Treloar (AUS) •  1954: Mike Agostini (TRI) •  1958: Keith Gardner (JAM) •  1962: Seraphino Antao (KEN) •  1966: Harry Jerome (CAN) •  1970 – 1978: Don Quarrie (JAM) •  1982: Allan Wells (SCO) •  1986: Ben Johnson (CAN) •  1990 – 1994: Linford Christie (ENG) •  1998: Ato Boldon (TRI) •  2002: Kim Collins (SKN) •  2006: Asafa Powell (JAM) •  2010: Lerone Clarke (JAM) Persondata Name Williams, Percy Alternative names Short description Canadian athlete Date of birth 1908-05-19 Place of birth Vancouver, British Columbia Date of death 1982-11-29 Place of death