William Snoddy (born December 6, 1957) is a former sprinter from the

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. He achieved most success in the

200-meter dash 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 ...

where he was

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champion in 1977. In 1978, Snoddy ran the

100-meter dash 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 ...

in a heavily wind-assisted time of 9.87 seconds – then the fastest time ever recorded for a 100 m race. The wind speed was recorded at 25 mph.

Track career

Snoddy was a star sprinter at

Nathan Hale High School Nathan Hale High School may refer to: * Nathan Hale High School (Oklahoma), United States * Nathan Hale High School (Washington), United States * Nathan Hale High School (Wisconsin), United States * Nathan Hale-Ray High School, Connecticut ...

setting a state age record in the 220 y dash of 21.0 s, and won two state championships at the distance in consecutive years, 1975 and 1976. Snoddy attended the

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. As a college freshman, Snoddy became NCAA champion (US collegiate champion) in 1977 over 200 m. He recorded a winning time of 20.48 s, then a low-altitude meeting record, at

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on June 4. The following year, as a college sophomore, he was second, recording a time of 20.28 s at the meeting in Eugene,

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on June 3. On 1 April 1978, at a meet in

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, Snoddy ran 100 m in the wind-assisted time of 9.87 s then the fastest time ever recorded for a 100 m race.The wind reading was 11.2 m/s, well in excess of the allowable wind reading for a valid record of 2.0 m/s - Progression of IAAF World Records 2011 Edition, Editor Imre Matrahazi, IAAF Athletics, p viii. He also won Indoor College Conference titles at 300 yards in 1977 and 1978., setting the University of Oklahoma record of 29.47 s in 1978. Snoddy returned to run track again in the 1980s after a hiatus. He achieved some moderate success - in 1987 he won the

New Year Sprint The New Year Sprint (formerly the Powderhall Sprint) is the name of a handicap sprint race for professional athletes that takes place each year in Scotland. The sprint is one of the original events of this type, tracing its history back to 1870 ...

race (110 m handicap race) in

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Later life

Snoddy left college early after two years and joined the

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. He later worked as a water supervisor for the city of

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and in airport security for TSA, the airport-security organization.

Rankings

Snoddy was ranked in the top ten 200 m sprinters in the world in 1977 and 1978, according to the votes of the experts of ''

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''.

Notes

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Snoddy, William Living people 1957 births American male sprinters Track and field athletes from Seattle Oklahoma Sooners men's track and field athletes Universiade medalists in athletics (track and field) Universiade bronze medalists for the United States Medalists at the 1977 Summer Universiade Nathan Hale High School alumni