| Medal record | ||
|---|---|---|
| Men's athletics | ||
Representing the  United States | ||
| Pan American Games | ||
 | 1975 Mexico City | 4 x 100 m relay |
| IAAF World Cup | ||
| 1977 Düsseldorf | 4 x 100 m relay |
William Collins (born November 20, 1950) is an American sprinter, originally running for Mount Vernon High School in Westchester County, New York, where he won four state titles [1] and later at Texas Christian University [2] where he achieved "All-American" status. [3]
In 1976 he managed to make the finals in the 100 metres at the United States Olympic Trials, finishing last which qualified him for the relay pool, though he never ran in the Olympics. [4] He did make the USA 4x100 relay team that won at the first ever 1977 IAAF World Cup. That team's 38.03 was the world record in the event for almost 6 years. He was ranked #7 in the US top ten at 200 metres in 1977 and 1975 [5] At 100 metres he was near the bottom of the top ten 1974-1976 [6]
At the international Pacific Conference Games in 1977 he won overtage 200 meters, and placed second over 100 meters, and he was on the winning 4 x 100 meters relay team. [7]
Collins holds five current Masters World Records, including three age groups of the 100 metres. Younger athletes who train with him and his Houston Elite Track Club at Rice University refer to him as "Superman." [1] Indoors and outdoors, he has won numerous World and National Championships. In a class by himself he is rarely beaten, except when injured.
In 2003 he was voted into the Masters Division of the National Track and Field Hall of Fame. [8] Geezerjock Magazine name him their inaugural "Geezerjock of the Year" in 2005. [9] In 2007 he was named "World Masters Athletics Masters Athlete of the Year" which was presented at the IAAF gala in Monaco. [3]
At his first major meet after turning 60, Collins set the world indoor record in the M60 200 metres and 400 metres. He was named USATF "Athlete of the Week" amongst all age divisions. [10] He had received the same citation almost exactly five years earlier after his first major competition after entering the previous age division and setting world records. [11]
He co-authored, with Rick Riddle a book on Masters sprinting, "The Ageless Athletic Spirit: Training with a World Champion" [12] [13]
In 2011, Collins suffered paralysis in his legs, rendering him unable to walk. It was later diagnosed as Guillain–Barré syndrome. As inexplicable as the disease's cause, was his recovery. After spending the 2011 season (when the World Masters Athletics Championships were held in the United States) in a wheelchair, in early 2012 "Superman" came roaring back to set a new indoor world record in the M60 60 metres at the USA Indoor Masters Championships. [14] [15]
Evelyn Ashford is an American retired track and field athlete, the 1984 Olympic champion in the 100-meter dash, and the world record-holder in the 60-yard dash. She ran under the 11-second barrier over 30 times and was the first to run under 11 seconds in an Olympic Games. Ashford has the distinction of owning the longest unbroken athletics record.
Darvis "Doc" Darell Patton is a retired American track and field athlete who competed in sprinting events. He is a two-time US Champion in the 200-meter dash and won the silver medal in the event at the 2003 World Championships. He is a three-time Olympian and a four-time participant at the World Athletics Championships.
John Lee Gray Jr. is a retired American world class 800 meter runner from the mid-1980s to the late 1990s and the holder of the 600m world best. A four-time-Olympian (1984-1996) in 1985 he set the US record of 1:42.60 at a meet in Koblenz. That time puts Gray as the nineteenth fastest performer of all time. He came seventh in the 1984 Summer Olympics, fifth in 1988, and won the bronze medal at the Barcelona Olympics of 1992. In 1993 Gray was one of the favourites to win a gold medal at the World Championships in Stuttgart as he had won the A-race at the prestigious meeting in Zurich. However, he failed to qualify for the final in Stuttgart. He also set the world 600 meter record in 1986 at 1:12.81. In 1992 and 1993 Gray came close to breaking the world indoor record over 800 m several times. He held the US indoor record at 1:45.00 till February 2019.
Payton Jordan was the head coach of the 1968 United States Olympic track and field team, one of the most powerful track teams ever assembled, which won a record twenty-four medals, including twelve golds. He was born in Whittier, California. Jordan was exceedingly successful as a collegiate track coach for a decade at Occidental College and for 23 years at Stanford University. A star three-sport athlete in his youth, Jordan more recently became one of the most dominant track athletes of all time, as a sprinter, in senior divisions. Jordan died of cancer at his home in Laguna Hills, California on February 5, 2009.
Masters athletics is a class of the sport of athletics for athletes of 35 years of age and over. The events include track and field, road running and cross country running. Competitors are bracketed into five-year age groups. For international events the first age group is 35 to 39. Men as old as 105 and women in their 100s have competed in running, jumping and throwing events. Masters athletes are sometimes known as "veterans" and the European Masters Championships, for instance, is known as "Eurovets". This and other high level events including biennial World Championships cater largely to elite-level athletes, but many masters athletes are novices to athletics and enjoy the camaraderie offered by masters competition at the local, National and International level. Most National governing bodies for track and field hold annual Masters championships. Prestigious National meets such as the Penn Relays and the United States Olympic Trials put on exhibition events for top masters athletes. Masters athletics is growing Internationally with over 6000 athletes competing at recent World Championships. World; National and Regional records are maintained for each age group.
Steve Williams is a retired track and field sprinter from the United States. He equalled the men's world records for the 100 m and 200 m with hand-timed runs of 9.9 seconds and 19.8 seconds, respectively, and was also a member of a team that set a world record in the 4 × 100 m relay.
Michael Rodgers 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.
Clifford 'Cliff' Wiley is a former American track and field athlete, who competed in the sprints events during his career. He is best known for winning the men's 400 metres event at the 1981 Athletics World Cup in Rome and the 1983 Pan American Games in Caracas.
Jim Sorensen is an American Track and Field athlete, known primarily for running middle distance races. He is the current Masters M40 world record holder at 800 metres and former Masters M40 world record holder at 1500 metres.
Kathy Bergen is an American Masters athletics track and field athlete. She is the current world record holder in the W70 100 meters and the high jump. She also holds the Indoor World records for the W65 high jump, the W70 60 meters, 200 meters and high jump. And she holds the American record for the W70 200 meters and the W65 high jump. She is the oldest woman to break the 15 second barrier in the 100 meters and to break 32 seconds in the 200 meters. She is also the first 70-year-old woman to jump 1.30 meters in the high jump at USATF Masters Championships in Sacramento in 2010.
Donald Pellmann was an American centenarian multi world-record-setting masters athlete. He held the current M90 world record in the long jump, high jump, discus throw, and indoor pole vault. Additionally, he also held the American records in the 100 metres, triple jump, shot put, and javelin throw. He lived in an assisted senior living facility in Santa Clara, California.
Irene Romona Obera is an American track and field athlete, specializing in sprinting events. Over an extended career, she has set numerous world records and has won numerous world championships. She is currently a member of the W70 world record holding 4x100 metres relay team. She also holds the current American record in the W60 and W75 100 metres and the W75 200 metres.
Kenneth Edward Dennis was an American track and field athlete. As a Masters sprinter he held the world record in the 100 metres in several age groups. Standing 5'3" the short Dennis was known for his soft-spoken nature, his greetings of "Hey man" or "Go man" and his blazing fast starts.
Larry Stuart was an American track and field athlete, known primarily for the javelin throw.
Christian Coleman is an American professional track and field sprinter who competes in the 100 meters and 200 meters. The 2019 world champion in the 100 meters, he also won gold as part of men's 4 × 100-meter relay. He holds personal bests of 9.76 seconds for the 100 m, which made him the 6th fastest all-time in the history of 100 metres event, and 19.85 for the 200 m. Coleman is the world indoor record holder for the 60 meters with 6.34 seconds. He was the Diamond League champion in 2018 & 2023 and the world number one ranked runner in the men's 100 m for the 2017, 2018 and 2019 seasons.
Kahmari Montgomery is an American track and field sprinter specializing in the 400 m for Nike. He was the men's 400 m champion at the USA Championships in 2018, and at the NCAA Division I Championships in 2019. He represented the United States in the 4 × 400 m relay at the World U20 Championships in 2016 and at the inaugural Athletics World Cup in 2018, earning gold medals in both competitions.
Aleia Hobbs is an American professional track and field athlete specializing in the sprints. She won three global medals as part of national women's 4 × 100 meters relays. Hobbs is the North American indoor record holder for the 60 m with a time of 6.94 seconds set in February 2023, becoming the second-fastest woman of all time at the event.
The USATF Masters Outdoor Championships is an annual track and field competition which serves as the national championship for the United States for athletes in masters age groups. Organized by USA Track & Field, the national governing body for the sport, the competition was first held in 1968. Athletes compete in 5-year age groups, beginning from 25 and up to 105. Traditionally limited to athletes over 35, a "pre-masters" group was introduced in 2020 to encourage post-collegiate athletes over 25 to continue competing.
Charles Allie is an American masters athletics sprinter. He has set numerous masters world records in sprint events from 200 to 400 meters.
