Ivory Williams (born May 2, 1985) is an American

sprint Sprint may refer to: Aerospace *Spring WS202 Sprint, a Canadian aircraft design *Sprint (missile), an anti-ballistic missile Automotive and motorcycle *Alfa Romeo Sprint, automobile produced by Alfa Romeo between 1976 and 1989 *Chevrolet Sprint, ...

athlete who specializes in the

100 meters The 100 metres, or 100-meter dash, is a sprint race in track and field competitions. The shortest common outdoor running distance, the dash is one of the most popular and prestigious events in the sport of athletics. It has been contest ...

. Born in

Jefferson County, Texas Jefferson County is a county in the Coastal Plain or Gulf Prairie region of Southeast Texas. The Neches River forms its northeast boundary. As of the 2020 census, the population was 256,526. The county seat is Beaumont. Jefferson County has t ...

, Williams attended Central High School in

Beaumont Beaumont may refer to: Places Canada * Beaumont, Alberta * Beaumont, Quebec England * Beaumont, Cumbria * Beaumont, Essex **Beaumont Cut, a canal closed in the 1930s * Beaumont Street, Oxford France (communes) * Beaumont, Ardèche * Be ...

, where he was a two-sport athlete. As a wide receiver and all-purpose back, he was ranked as the No. 40

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

prospect in the state by

Rivals.com Rivals.com is a network of websites that focus mainly on college football and basketball recruiting in the United States. The network was started in 1998 and employs more than 300 personnel. History Rivals.com was founded in 1998 by Jim Heckma ...

. In track and field, he competed at the 2002 United States Junior Championships, taking bronze in the

200 meters The 200 metres, or 200-meter dash, is a sprint running event. On an outdoor 400 metre racetrack, the race begins on the curve and ends on the home straight, so a combination of techniques is needed to successfully run the race. A slightl ...

and finishing in fourth place in the 100 m. In his senior season in 2003, Williams was unbeaten on the track. His first major junior tournament was the

2004 World Junior Championships in Athletics The 2004 World Junior Championships in Athletics were held in Grosseto, Italy on 12–18 July. Results Men Women Medal table Participation According to an unofficial count through an unofficial result list, 1261 athletes from 168 count ...

. He produced a season's best of 10.29 seconds to win the 100 m event, beating favourite Abidemi Omole. He followed this up with another gold medal in the 4×100 meters relay, setting a junior world record of 38.66 seconds with teammates Omole,

Trell Kimmons David Pretrell "Trell" Kimmons (born July 13, 1985) is an American sprinter. Career At the 2004 World Junior Championships in Athletics, Kimmons was part of a Gold medal winning 4×100 meters relay squad that established a junior world record ...

, and

LaShawn Merritt LaShawn Merritt (born June 27, 1986) is an American track and field athlete who competes in sprinting events, specializing in the 400 metres. He is a former Olympic champion over the distance and his personal best of 43.65 seconds makes him th ...

. In the 2008 season he won the 100 m at the

Prefontaine Classic The Prefontaine Classic, an Oregon Track Club event, is one of the premier track and field meets in the United States, held in Eugene, Oregon. Every year it draws a world caliber field to compete at Hayward Field on the campus of the University o ...

. Shortly after, Williams broke the

10-second barrier The 10-second barrier is the physical and psychological barrier of completing the 100 metres sprint in under ten seconds. The achievement is traditionally regarded as the hallmark of a world-class male sprinter. Its significance has become less i ...

for the first time, running a new 100 m personal best of 9.94 seconds in the quarter-finals of the 2008 US Olympic Trials. The time made him the fifth fastest American in the 100 m that year, and ninth in the world rankings. However, he failed to progress beyond the semi-finals: Williams was beaten into fifth place, and out of qualification, by

Xavier Carter Xavier Carter (born December 8, 1985) is an American professional track and field athlete. He attended Louisiana State University and was a star on the track and field team as well a member of the football team. Before LSU, Xavier Carter graduat ...

by just a thousandth of a second. He ran a personal best of 6.52 seconds in the

60 meters 60 metres, or 60-meter dash, is a sprint event in track and field. It is a championship event for indoor championships, normally dominated by the best outdoor 100 metres runners. At outdoor venues it is a rare distance, at least for senior ath ...

at the 2009

USA Indoor Track and Field Championships The USA Indoor Track and Field Championships is an annual indoor track and field competition organized by USA Track & Field, which serves as the American national championships for the sport. In years which feature a World Indoor Championships in ...

, reaching the final as the fastest qualifier. However, he was disqualified in the final of the event for a false start. At the USA vs. The World relay competition at the Penn Relays, Williams took second place in 38.36 with the US red team comprising

Terrence Trammell Terrence Trammell (born November 23, 1978) is a retired American track and field athlete who was the silver medalist for the 110 meter hurdles at the 2000 and 2004 Summer Olympics, and three time silver medalist for the World Championships. He w ...

Mark Jelks Mark Elliott Jelks (born April 10, 1984) is an American track and field athlete who specializes in the 100-meter dash. He has a personal best of 9.99 seconds for the event and represented the United States at the 2007 World Championships i ...

, and

Mike Rodgers Michael Rodgers (born April 24, 1985) is an American professional track and field sprinter who specializes in the 100 m and the 60 m. He won the gold medal in the 100m relay in Doha 2019. He is also the Pan-Am Games Champion. Caree ...

. In May 2009, Williams took part in the 150 meters street race at the

Great City Games The Great Manchester Run (styled as the ''Simplyhealth Great Manchester Run'' for sponsorship purposes from 2017) is an annual run through Greater Manchester (namely Manchester, Trafford and City of Salford, Salford). It has consisted of a 10k ru ...

Manchester Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The t ...

. He finished in third with a time of 15.08 seconds, behind

Marlon Devonish Marlon Ronald Devonish, (born 1 June 1976) is an English former sprinter who competed in the 100 metres and 200 metres. A prodigious relay runner with particular strength as a 'bend' runner, Devonish ran the third leg for the Great Britain q ...

and

Usain Bolt Usain St. Leo Bolt, , (; born 21 August 1986) is a retired Jamaican sprinter, widely considered to be the greatest sprinter of all time. He is the world record holder in the 100 metres, 200 metres, and 4 × 100 metres relay. An eight- ...

(who ran a world best 14.35 seconds). He reached the final of the US Championships but finished seventh, missing out on the

2009 World Championships in Athletics The 12th IAAF World Championships in Athletics () were held in Berlin, Germany from 15–23 August 2009. The majority of events took place in the Olympiastadion, while the marathon and racewalking events started and finished at the Brandenburg ...

. He recorded a new personal best the following month, running 9.93 seconds to win the 25th Vardinoyannia in

Rethymno Rethymno ( el, Ρέθυμνο, , also ''Rethimno'', ''Rethymnon'', ''Réthymnon'', and ''Rhíthymnos'') is a city in Greece on the island of Crete. It is the capital of Rethymno regional unit, and has a population of more than 30,000 inhabitants ( ...

, Greece. Williams won the 60 m at the

in 2010, running a world leading and personal record time of 6.49 seconds, which set him up as a favorite for the

2010 IAAF World Indoor Championships The 2010 IAAF World Indoor Championships in Athletics was held between 12 and 14 March at the Aspire Dome in Doha, Qatar. The championships was the first of six IAAF World Athletics Series events to take place in 2010. Bidding and organisation Th ...

. However, he was barred from competing at the championships after his sample from the US championships tested positive for

Carboxy THC 11-Nor-9-carboxy-Δ9-tetrahydrocannabinol (11-COOH-THC or THC-COOH), often referred to as 11-nor-9-carboxy-THC or THC-11-oic acid, is the main secondary metabolite of tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) which is formed in the body after cannabis is consu ...

, a

marijuana Cannabis, also known as marijuana among other names, is a psychoactive drug from the cannabis plant. Native to Central or South Asia, the cannabis plant has been used as a drug for both recreational and entheogenic purposes and in various tra ...

metabolite. He received a three-month suspension and his championship result was annulled.Ivory Williams ban boosts gold hopes for Dwain Chambers

BBC Sport BBC Sport is the sports division of the BBC, providing national sports coverage for BBC television, radio and online. The BBC holds the television and radio UK broadcasting rights to several sports, broadcasting the sport live or alongside flag ...

(2010-03-10). Retrieved on 2010-03-10.

Personal bests

*All information taken from IAAF Profile.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Williams, Ivory 1985 births Living people Sportspeople from Beaumont, Texas American male sprinters Doping cases in athletics American sportspeople in doping cases Houston Cougars men's track and field athletes