Barton Williams (born September 20, 1956 in Mare Island, California) is an American former hurdler. He attended California Polytechnic State University (Cal Poly-San Luis Obispo) from 1975–1979. Williams is one of Cal Poly's all-time greatest

track and field Track and field is a sport that includes athletic contests based on running, jumping, and throwing skills. The name is derived from where the sport takes place, a running track and a grass field for the throwing and some of the jumping events ...

athletes.

Career

Barton Williams is a member of the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association NCAA Division II Track & Field Athlete Hall of Fame. Bart Williams represented the U.S. in 10 international competitions, held several CAL POLY School records, including one NCAA Division II 400IH record. He also was recipient of the 2005 Distinguished alumnus Cal Poly Track & Field Award and California State Assembly Resolution Award For Outstanding Athlete 1979. Williams was the

cross country running Cross country running is a sport in which teams and individuals run a race on open-air courses over natural terrain such as dirt or grass. The course, typically long, may include surfaces of grass and earth, pass through woodlands and open coun ...

coach Coach may refer to: Guidance/instruction * Coach (sport), a director of athletes' training and activities * Coaching, the practice of guiding an individual through a process ** Acting coach, a teacher who trains performers Transportation * Co ...

at Vallejo High School in Vallejo,

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

. He has coached track at Contra Costa College in

Richmond Richmond most often refers to: * Richmond, Virginia, the capital of Virginia, United States * Richmond, London, a part of London * Richmond, North Yorkshire, a town in England * Richmond, British Columbia, a city in Canada * Richmond, California, ...

, CA. In 1979, Bart was one of only a few athletes to be All American in both NCAA Division I & II track and field events. Barton Williams was the first athlete from Vallejo, CA to participate on an Olympic Team. when he qualified for the 1980 U.S. Olympic team. He was unable to compete due to President

Jimmy Carter James Earl Carter Jr. (born October 1, 1924) is an American politician who served as the 39th president of the United States from 1977 to 1981. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, he previously served as th ...

's decision to

boycott A boycott is an act of nonviolent, voluntary abstention from a product, person, organization, or country as an expression of protest. It is usually for moral, social, political, or environmental reasons. The purpose of a boycott is to inflict som ...

the 1980 Olympic Games in

Moscow Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 million ...

U.S.S.R. The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen national ...

, because the

Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen national ...

had invaded

Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan,; prs, امارت اسلامی افغانستان is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. Referred to as the Heart of Asia, it is bordere ...

in December 1979. Barton Williams was an assistant coach for the U.S. World University Games team in

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, in 2001. He coached the men's hurdles and the horizontal jumps. In 2007, he received one of 461 Congressional Gold Medals created especially for the spurned athletes.

Achievements

* Cal Poly Sport Hall of Fame: Inducted Oct 1998 * Cal Poly Cross Country and Track & Field Hall of Fame : Inducted January 12, 1991Cal Poly Mustangs Track Guide 1983 * World & US Ranking from 1979, 1980, 1981, 1984, 1987– Highest world Ranking 6th * Qualified for USA Olympic Team 1980 * NCAA All American Ten times: 1976–1979 * West Coast Relay College Most Outstanding Athletes 1979 Fresno, CA * Cal Poly Most Valuable- Barton Williams, Dan Aldridge, Jim Schankle 1979 * Cal Poly Most Valuable- Barton Williams, Jim Schankle 1978Cal Poly Mustangs Track Guide 1979

School records

* Cal Poly-San Luis Obispo school records Holder in the 400 meter hurdles * 400m – 4 × 100 m relay – 4 × 400 m relay – 4 × 200 m relay – distance medley relay * CCAA conference records Holder in the 400m, 200m, 4X100 RELAY, 4X400 RELAY, 1978 * CCAA conference champion 400m, 200m 4x100 relay, 4x400 relay 1978& 1979 * NCAA Division II champion and former recorder holder 400 meter hurdles, 1979www.hickoksports.com
* NCAA Division II champion, 4x100 relay 1979

USA teams

* USA & Great Britain duel meet Team 1981

London, England London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a major s ...

* Pacific Conference Games 1981

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* United States Olympic Team Member, 1980, 400IH Boycott Moscow,

* Eight Nation Games 1979& 1980

Tokyo, Japan Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and List of cities in Japan, largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, ...

* Pan- American Games Team Member 1979

San Juan, Puerto Rico San Juan (, , ; Spanish for "Saint John") is the capital city and most populous municipality in the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, an unincorporated territory of the United States. As of the 2020 census, it is the 57th-largest city under the jur ...

* Sparakiad Games 1979 Moscow, Russia * World University Games Team Member 1979

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* PRE – Commonwealth Games Trial 1978 Edmonton, Canada * Sport Festival West Team 1978

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References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Williams, Barton American male hurdlers Sportspeople from Vallejo, California Olympic track and field athletes of the United States California Polytechnic State University alumni 1956 births Living people Congressional Gold Medal recipients