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25, 2004 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Release by Mike Marzolf Photo available upon request |
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Williams
earns Olympic Silver in 200m Williams, who placed 3rd at the US Olympic Trials, moved up a notch in the order, beating teammate Justin Gatlin, the Olympic 100m gold medallist, in the 200m. Williams ran a 20.01, equaling his persona best time to capture the silver. Shawn Crawford won the event with a blazing 19.79. Williams just did edge Gatlin out for the silver and Gatlin ran a 20.03 for bronze. The rest of the field was back as 4th place came in at 20.14.
The start of the race was delayed for ten minutes because of the Greek crowd's boisterous behaviour. They were angry that their hero Kostas Kederis had been withdrawn from the Olympics. They chanted his name and booed when the American sprinters were shown on the stadium scoreboard screen. Requests to be quiet for the start were also ignored. "I don't know, apparently it didn't disturb us,” Williams said of the delay. “We got all three medals. We kept our composure. We are just glad to get the three medals for the USA. It is the 2nd Olympic medal for Williams, who won a gold as part of the men’s 4x100m relay team during the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney. Williams had been running well the entire Olympics, winning his first two heats and coming in 2nd to Crawford in the semifinals with the 2nd best time of the semis. He kept it going for that one last race, running the fastest race of his life. Williams, a 1999 graduate of Barton County, still holds the 60m and 200m indoor records as well as the 100m outdoor mark. His 100m outdoor record is 10.03. He is 5th all-time on the 200m outdoor list with a 20.46. His indoor record is 20.69. -30- Check
out Barton County Track Online at www.bartonccc.edu/sports
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It
was another sweep in one fashion and just short of a sweep in another
and former Barton County Community College star Bernard Williams
was right in the middle during the final days of the 2004 Summer
Olympics. The United States men went 1-2-3 in the 200m dash giving
the USA sprinters their second sweep. America swept the men’s
400m dash as well. Williams won silver for the USA and almost gave
former Cougars a sweep of their own in the event. Had Williams taken
the gold, Barton graduate would have won both the men’s and
women’s gold in the 200m. As it is, Barton County now has
1 gold, 2 silver, and 2 bronze in track and field at the XXVIII
Olympiad in Athens.
"I
got out pretty good but Crawford got out better. Basically, I just
held my composure until the end so I got one of the medals,”
Williams said in a post race press conference. . "We talked
about (sweeping) all week. Seeing the 400m men doing it, kind of
inspired us. We didn't want anybody to sneak in to get one of those
medals."