Rhys Williams (born 27 February 1984), is a

Welsh Welsh may refer to: Related to Wales * Welsh, referring or related to Wales * Welsh language, a Brittonic Celtic language spoken in Wales * Welsh people People * Welsh (surname) * Sometimes used as a synonym for the ancient Britons (Celtic peop ...

professional

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 ...

athlete, specializing in the

400 m hurdles The 400 metres hurdles is a track and field hurdling event. The event has been on the Olympic athletics programme since 1900 for men and since 1984 for women. On a standard outdoor track, 400 metres is the length of the inside lane, once ar ...

. He is a previous European champion in the event.

Early life

Williams was born in

Bridgend Bridgend (; cy, Pen-y-bont ar Ogwr or just , meaning "the end of the bridge on the Ogmore") is a town in Bridgend County Borough in Wales, west of Cardiff and east of Swansea. The town is named after the Old Bridge, Bridgend, medieval bridge ...

, the son of former Welsh international rugby union player J.J. Williams. Rhys studied at

Ysgol Gyfun Llanhari Ysgol Llanhari is a Welsh-medium school for 3-19 year olds situated in the village of Llanharry, Rhondda Cynon Taf, Wales. History Llanhari is one of the Welsh medium secondary schools in the area, having opened in 1974. It followed Ysgol Gyfu ...

from September 1995 until June 2002. He was a member of the Bridgend and District D.C. Thomas winning rugby side at the age of 11 and was also the Welsh U15

backstroke Backstroke or back crawl is one of the four Swimming (sport), swimming styles used in competitive events regulated by FINA, and the only one of these styles swum on the back. This swimming style has the advantage of easy breathing, but the disa ...

swimming champion. He is currently studying for a master's degree at the

University of Glamorgan , image_name = University of Glamorgan arms.png , image_size = 220px , caption = University of Glamorgan coat of arms , motto = Success Through Endeavour , established = , closed = , administrative_staff = , chancellor = John Morris ...

Athletics career

Williams won the 400 m hurdles at the 2005 European U23 Championships, was European Junior Champion in 2003, and won the

European Youth Olympics The European Youth Olympic Festival (EYOF) is a biennial multi-sport event for youth (14 to 18 years old) athletes from the 50 member countries of the association of European Olympic Committees. The festival has a summer edition, held for the fir ...

in 2001. On 10 August 2006, Williams won the

bronze medal A bronze medal in sports and other similar areas involving competition is a medal made of bronze awarded to the third-place finisher of contests or competitions such as the Olympic Games, Commonwealth Games, etc. The outright winner receive ...

at the

European Championships in Athletics The European Athletics Championships is a biennial (from 2010) athletics event organised by the European Athletics Association and is recognised as the elite continental outdoor athletics championships for Europe. Editions First held, for men ...

Gothenburg Gothenburg (; abbreviated Gbg; sv, Göteborg ) is the second-largest city in Sweden, fifth-largest in the Nordic countries, and capital of the Västra Götaland County. It is situated by the Kattegat, on the west coast of Sweden, and has ...

in a time of 49.12 seconds, thus just slightly missing his personal best (49.09, set at the

2006 Commonwealth Games The 2006 Commonwealth Games, officially the XVIII Commonwealth Games and commonly known as Melbourne 2006 (Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm 2006'' or ''Naarm 2006''), was an international multi-sport event for members of the Commonwealth held ...

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...

, where he finished fourth). He also ran 48.3 over the 400 m (2002). On 13 August 2006 at that same event, he won a silver medal in the

4x400 m relay Four-wheel drive, also called 4×4 ("four by four") or 4WD, refers to a two-axled vehicle drivetrain capable of providing torque to all of its wheels simultaneously. It may be full-time or on-demand, and is typically linked via a transfer case ...

as the second sprinter, along with

Robert Tobin The name Robert is an ancient Germanic given name, from Proto-Germanic "fame" and "bright" (''Hrōþiberhtaz''). Compare Old Dutch ''Robrecht'' and Old High German ''Hrodebert'' (a compound of '' Hruod'' ( non, Hróðr) "fame, glory, honou ...

Graham Hedman Graham Hedman (born 6 February 1979 in Witham, Essex) is a British sprinter. At the 2006 European Athletics Championships in Gothenburg, he won the silver medal in the 4x400 m relay along with Robert Tobin, Rhys Williams and Timothy Benjami ...

and

Timothy Benjamin Timothy David Benjamin (born 2 May 1982) is a former professional athlete from Wales. He specialised in the 400 metres, and in his teens was coached by Jock Anderson, in the same training group as Christian Malcolm. He then moved to live in Slo ...

, in a time of 3:01.63. On 31 July 2010, he achieved the Silver Medal in the

at the European Athletics Championships in Barcelona, with fellow Welshman

Dai Greene David "Dai" Greene (born 11 April 1986) is a British hurdler who specialises in the 400 metres hurdles, competing internationally for both Wales and Great Britain. In a 'golden' sixteen-month period between 2010 and 2011, Greene dominated the e ...

winning Gold.

Injuries

On 17 June 2008 it was announced that he would miss the 2008 Olympics due to a stress fracture to his right foot. He suffered the injury while taking part in the Welsh Championships two days earlier, which was the first time he had competed since suffering a similar injury a year earlier.

Doping violation

On 25 July 2014, on the second day of the

2014 Commonwealth Games The 2014 Commonwealth Games ( gd, Geamannan a' Cho-fhlaitheis 2014), officially known as the XX Commonwealth Games and commonly known as Glasgow 2014, ( sco, Glesca 2014 or Glesga 2014; gd, Glaschu 2014), was an international multi-sport ev ...

where he was co-captain of the Welsh team, it was announced that he was suspended from all competition because of a doping violation at the Glasgow Grand Prix on 11 July. In January 2015

UK Anti-Doping UK Anti-Doping (UKAD) is the organisation responsible for protecting sport in the United Kingdom from doping. It is a non-departmental public body of the Department for Culture, Media and Sport and is structured as a company limited by guarantee. ...

gave Williams a four-month suspension, whilst accepting that Williams' positive test was due to taking a contaminated supplement and that he had not knowingly cheated. As Williams had already been suspended for more than six months the decision meant that he was free to compete again.

Personal bests

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Williams, Rhys 1984 births Living people Sportspeople from Cardiff Welsh male hurdlers Welsh male sprinters Commonwealth Games bronze medallists for Wales Athletes (track and field) at the 2006 Commonwealth Games Athletes (track and field) at the 2010 Commonwealth Games People educated at Ysgol Gyfun Llanhari Team Bath track and field athletes Athletes (track and field) at the 2012 Summer Olympics Olympic athletes of Great Britain European Athletics Championships medalists Welsh sportspeople in doping cases Doping cases in athletics Commonwealth Games medallists in athletics AAA Championships winners Medallists at the 2010 Commonwealth Games