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
China
China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...
, 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, 1991
[Cal 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 1978
[Cal 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, 1979
[www.hickoksports.com](_blank)
* 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
Auckland, New Zealand
Auckland (pronounced ) ( mi, Tāmaki Makaurau) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. The List of New Zealand urban areas by population, most populous urban area in the country and the List of cities in Oceania by po ...
* United States Olympic Team Member, 1980, 400IH Boycott Moscow,
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 ...
* 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
Mexico City, Mexico
Mexico City ( es, link=no, Ciudad de México, ; abbr.: CDMX; Nahuatl: ''Altepetl Mexico'') is the capital and largest city of Mexico, and the most populous city in North America. One of the world's alpha cities, it is located in the Valley of Mex ...
* PRE – Commonwealth Games Trial 1978
Edmonton, Canada
* Sport Festival West Team 1978
Colorado Springs, Colorado
Colorado Springs is a home rule municipality in, and the county seat of, El Paso County, Colorado, United States. It is the largest city in El Paso County, with a population of 478,961 at the 2020 United States Census, a 15.02% increase since ...
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