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| Born | (1983-09-11)September 11, 1983 (age 42) Rochester, Pennsylvania, U.S. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Alma mater | University of Miami | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 5 ft 3 in (1.60 m) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Weight | 127 lb (58 kg; 9.1 st) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Sport | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Country |  United States | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Club | Florida | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Turned pro | 2004 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Achievements and titles | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Olympic finals | 2ndAthens 2004– 100 metres | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| World finals | 1stHelsinki 2005– 100 metres | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Highest world ranking | 2 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Personalbest(s) | 100 m- 10.88 200 m- 22.27 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Medal record
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| Updated on February 19, 2014 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Lauryn Williams (born September 11, 1983) is an Americansprinter andbobsledder.[1] She was the gold medalist in the100 meter dash at the2005 World Championships in Athletics and won silver medals at the2004 Summer Olympics,2007 World Championships, and2006 IAAF World Indoor Championships. She won a silver medal in thetwo-woman bobsleigh at the2014 Winter Olympics.
AWorld Junior Champion in 2002, she went on to win the 100 m at the2003 Pan American Games and claimed theNCAA title over the distance for theUniversity of Miami the following year. She has also featured as part of the American4 × 100 meter relay team, winning gold medals at the 2005 and 2007 World Championships and at the 2012 Summer Olympics.
Williams is one of six athletes to havewon a medal in both the Summer and Winter Olympic games, as well as the first American woman to do so.[2][3]
Williams was born inRochester, Pennsylvania and raised in suburbanPittsburgh andDetroit. She currently resides in suburban Pittsburgh. She holds her high school records for the 100, 200 m, long jump and 4 × 100 meters relay.[4] She ran for The Wings of Moon Track Club founded by Coach Rubin Carter based in Moon Township, Pennsylvania, a suburb near Pittsburgh. She was a star with the new club and qualified for the National Junior Olympics.
She attended theUniversity of Miami, where she competed on the track team and graduated in 2004.[4] She was inducted into theIron Arrow Honor Society, the university's highest honor.
Williams was a part of the4 × 100 meter relay team at the2003 World Championships in Athletics, where she anchored the American team withAngela Williams,Chryste Gaines andInger Miller in their heat. She did not run in the final.
Later that season, she participated in the2003 Pan American Games in the100 metre event. She went on to claim gold in a time of 11.12, followed closely by Angela Williams andLiliana Allen.
Williams is a silver medalist in the100 meters at the2004 Summer Olympics and a 4-time medalist at theWorld Championships in Athletics, where she won (together withAngela Daigle,Muna Lee andMe'Lisa Barber) a gold medal in the 4 × 100 m relay in 2005 and 2007, as well as gold and silver in the 100 m in 2005 and 2007 editions of the meet.
At the 2004 Summer Olympics, Williams ran the third leg for the women's 4 × 100 relay team in the final.Marion Jones, who ran the second leg, and Williams failed to complete the baton exchange within the 20-meter passing zone, resulting in disqualification of the U.S. team.
In theBeijing Olympics of 2008, Williams ran the anchor leg in the relay, but a mix-up in the semi-final with team-mateTorri Edwards caused Edwards to drop the baton. Williams picked up the baton to finish in last place, but the USA was disqualified because she had had to run outside her lane in order to retrieve the baton. At the individual 100 metres sprint she placed 2nd in her first round heat behindChristine Arron in a time of 11.38 to advance to the second round. There she improved her time to 11.07 seconds and placed 2nd again, this time behindKerron Stewart. With the third time in her semi final heat behindShelly-Ann Fraser andMuna Lee she qualified for the final in 11.10 seconds. In the final she came to 11.03, finishing in fourth place, behind three runners fromJamaica.[1]
Williams took third place in the 100 m at the 2009 US Championships and as a result she qualified for the2009 World Championships in Athletics, her third consecutive championships.[5] A week before the World Championships began, she was part of a United States4 × 100 m relay team that ran the fastest women's sprint relay in twelve years. Williams,Allyson Felix,Muna Lee andCarmelita Jeter finished with a time of 41.58 seconds, bringing them to eighth on the all-time list.[6]
She spent the entirety of 2010 away from competitive athletics and, among other things, she worked in the athletic department at the University of Miami. She returned to competition in 2011.[7]
In the 2012 Olympics in London, Lauryn Williams ran the anchor leg of 4 × 100 meter relay for USA in the qualification round. The team went on to win gold and earn a new world record with a time of 40.82
On January 19, 2014 Williams won her first bobsled gold medal in a World Cup event at Igls, Austria. She was later selected to be a part of the U.S. Olympic 2014 women's bobsled team.[8]
On February 19, 2014 Williams along withElana Meyers won the silver medal at the 2014 Winter Olympic Games. Their first run was a time of 57.26, a track record. Their second run was 57.63, the third was 57.69 and fourth was 58.13 for a total of 3:50.71, a difference of +0.10 from first place, just edged out by Canada 1.
Williams is one of six Olympians, three Americans to win medals at the Winter and Summer Olympic Games.[9] Eddie Eagan won Gold as a boxer in 1920 and on the bobsled in 1932. Eddy Alvarez won a Silver Medal in 2014 as a speedskater and another Silver Medal in Tokyo for baseball.[9]
In 2013, Williams became an intern at Briaud Financial Advisors.[10] She later became acertified financial planner, passing the exam in 2017.[11]
| Year | Competition | Venue | Position | Event | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Representing the United States | |||||
| 2002 | World Junior Championships | Kingston, Jamaica | 1st | 100 m | 11.33(wind: -0.2 m/s) |
| 2nd | 4 × 100 m relay | 43.66 | |||
| 2003 | Pan American Games | Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic | 1st | 100 m | 11.12 secs |
| 2004 | Olympic Games | Athens, Greece | 2nd | 100 m | 10.96 secs |
| World Athletics Final | Monaco,Monaco | 3rd | 100 m | 11.21 secs | |
| 2005 | World Championships | Helsinki, Finland | 1st | 100 m | 10.93 secs |
| World Athletics Final | Monaco,Monaco | 3rd | 100 m | 11.04 secs | |
| 2006 | World Indoor Championships | Moscow, Russia | 2nd | 60 m | 7.01 secs |
| 2007 | World Championships | Osaka, Japan | 2nd | 100 m | 11.01 secs |
| 2012 | Olympic Games | London,Great Britain | 1st | 4 × 100 m relay | Competed in heats but not in final. |
| 2014 | Olympic Games | Sochi, Russia | 2nd | 2 Woman bobsleigh | 3:50.71 |
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