Todd Dwayne Williams (born March 7, 1969) is a retired

long-distance runner Long-distance running, or endurance running, is a form of continuous running over distances of at least . Physiologically, it is largely Aerobic exercise, aerobic in nature and requires endurance, stamina as well as mental strength. Within e ...

from the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

, who represented his native country at two consecutive

Summer Olympics The Summer Olympic Games (french: link=no, Jeux olympiques d'été), also known as the Games of the Olympiad, and often referred to as the Summer Olympics, is a major international multi-sport event normally held once every four years. The inau ...

, starting in 1992. Williams was born in

Monroe, Michigan Monroe is the largest city and county seat of Monroe County in the U.S. state of Michigan. Monroe had a population of 20,462 in the 2020 census. The city is bordered on the south by Monroe Charter Township, but the two are administered autonomo ...

. During high school he won the Michigan team race title twice. He was a two-time United States cross country champion, with victories in 1991 and 1993. He attended the

University of Tennessee The University of Tennessee (officially The University of Tennessee, Knoxville; or UT Knoxville; UTK; or UT) is a public land-grant research university in Knoxville, Tennessee. Founded in 1794, two years before Tennessee became the 16th state, ...

where he was an All-American for three years. Is also a Brazilian jiu-jitsu blackbelt under Luiz Palhares and runs an ASICS sponsored company known as RunSafer. His personal bests were 13:19.50 in the

5000 m The 5000 metres or 5000-metre run is a common long-distance running event in track and field, approximately equivalent to or . It is one of the track events in the Olympic Games and the World Championships in Athletics, run over laps of a stand ...

and 27:31.34 in the

10,000 m The 10,000 metres or the 10,000-metre run is a common long-distance track running event. The event is part of the athletics programme at the Olympic Games and the World Athletics Championships, and is common at championship level events. The race ...

. He ran his marathon best of 2:11:17 in the 1997

Chicago Marathon The Chicago Marathon is a marathon (long-distance foot race) held every October in Chicago, Illinois. It is one of the six World Marathon Majors. Thus, it is also a World Athletics Label Road Race. The Chicago Marathon is the fourth-largest r ...

. He is a five-time winner of the Gate River Run and set the current American record over 15 km at the event, running a time of 42:22 minutes for the distance. This is also the record for the whole of the North American, Central American and Caribbean region (NACAC). Williams also holds the 3rd-fastest

half marathon A half marathon is a road running event of —half the distance of a marathon. It is common for a half marathon event to be held concurrently with a marathon or a 5K race, using almost the same course with a late start, an early finish or shortcu ...

time ever by an American of 60:11 which he ran in Tokyo in 1993.

International competitions

References

USATF profile

External links

* 1969 births Living people Track and field athletes from Detroit American male long-distance runners Olympic male long-distance runners Olympic track and field athletes of the United States Athletes (track and field) at the 1992 Summer Olympics Athletes (track and field) at the 1996 Summer Olympics {{US-longdistance-athletics-bio-stub