Capers Williamson

Last updated

Capers Williamson
Capers Williamson.jpg
Personal information
NationalityAmerican
Born (1992-10-13) October 13, 1992 (age 31)
Sport
Sport Athletics
Event Javelin
Achievements and titles
Personal best(s)Javelin: 80.49 (East Stroudsburg, 2021)

Capers Williamson (born October 13, 1992) is an American athlete and Olympian who throws the javelin. [1]

Contents

Career

Raised in Greenville, South Carolina, Thompson is a 2014 graduate of Wade Hampton High School. [2] Williamson competed in the NCAA for the football and track and field teams at The Citadel Military College of South Carolina from 2010 to 2016. He was originally recruited as a football quarterback to The Citadel, but, after seeing him throw a football, a teammate suggested that he try out javelin. At The Citadel, he competed in high jump and javelin. [3] He won the Southern Conference Outdoor Championships in the javelin in 2015 and 2016. However, in his time in the NCAA, he failed to advance to an NCAA Championship.

In his first full season as a professional, Williamson placed 12th at the 2017 USA Outdoor Track and Field Championships. In 2018, he placed second at the meet with a throw of 75.71m. Later that year, Williamson placed fourth at the 2018 NACAC Championships - his first time representing the U.S. internationally. At the 2021 Olympic Trials, he placed sixth, and at the 2022 USA Outdoor Championships, he placed fourth.

At the 2023 USA Outdoor Championships, Williamson placed second to Curtis Thompson and qualified for the 2023 World Athletics Championships. He also represented the U.S. in November 2023 at the Pan American Games. At that competition, he placed fourth.

In 2024, Williamson threw a season's best at his second Olympic Trials with a 79.57m throw to qualify for the 2024 Paris Olympics.

Personal life

In the lead up to the 2018 U.S. Outdoor Track and Field Championships, Williamson commented, "Javelin's saved my life, and I owe my life to javelin. I should literally be in prison or dead." [4]

Williamson has struggled with drug addiction throughout his career. In 2023, he flipped a Chevrolet Camaro going 130 miles per hour while taking Xanax and beer. He told The Greenville News , "I flipped a Camaro going 130 miles an hour and should be dead. You know what I mean? I had a helicopter over my head looking for me in the Santee Cooper swamp." He started to attend Alcoholics Anonymous meetings and was sober for 90 days when he threw 79.07 meters in 2024 at the time the #1 mark in the country that year. [4]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kara Winger</span> American javelin thrower (b. 1986)

Kara Estelle Winger is an American track and field athlete who competes in the javelin throw. She is the American record holder in the javelin throw with a distance of 68.11 m.

Alicia DeShasier McConnell is an American track and field athlete who competes in the javelin throw. She won the gold medal in the event at the 2011 Pan American Games.

Samuel Crouser is an American javelin thrower. He is a 2015 alumnus of the University of Oregon.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chantae McMillan</span> American heptathlete

Chantae McMillan is an American heptathlete who competed at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London.

Tia Ra'shone Brooks is an American shot putter. In 2011, she placed second in the shot put at both the NCAA Indoor and Outdoor Championships. In 2012, she won both events before competing at the US Olympic Trials. At the Trials, she placed third in the shot put and qualified to represent the United States at the 2012 Summer Olympics. She placed 19th at the Olympics. Also in 2012, she was a Bowerman Award semifinalist.

Sean Furey is an American Olympic javelin thrower with a personal best of 83.08 meters. He has placed in the top three at the U.S. National Championships six times, winning the javelin event in 2010, 2014 and 2015. He represented the United States in international competition between 2009 and 2016, including 2 Olympic, 2 World Championship and 2 Pan American teams. In 2009, at the World Championships in Berlin, Germany, Sean qualified for the final with a season best throw and ultimately finished 12th.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cyrus Hostetler</span> American javelin thrower (born 1986)

Cyrus Hostetler is an American javelin thrower who competed at the 2012 Summer Olympics and 2016 Summer Olympics.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">English Gardner</span> American sprinter (born 1992)

English Gardner is an American track and field sprinter who specializes in the 100-meter dash. Her personal best of 10.74 seconds, set in 2016, ranks her in the top ten all-time for the distance.

Riley Dolezal is an American track and field athlete who competes in the javelin throw. His personal record for the event is 83.50 m and he is the 2013 and 2017 United States Javelin champion. He now works at Horace High School as a gym and health teacher

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Erica Bougard</span> American heptathlete (born 1993)

Erica Marsha Bougard is an American heptathlete. She was NCAA indoor champion in 2013 and represented the United States at the 2013 World Championships.

Shelbi JoDae Vaughan is an American track and field athlete. She is a specialist in the discus throw.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">DeAnna Price</span> American hammer thrower (born 1993)

DeAnna Marie Price, OLY is an American track and field athlete competing primarily in the hammer throw. Price's personal best in the hammer is 80.31 m (263 ft 5 in), the American record, set at the 2021 US Olympic trials. The throw ranked her as the #2 women's thrower in history.

Serene Ross is an American former track and field athlete who competed in the javelin throw. Her personal record of 60.06 m is a former American record for the discipline.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Darrell Hill (shot putter)</span> American shot putter (born 1993)

Darrell Hill is an American track and field athlete known for the shot put. On July 1, 2016, at the 2016 Olympic Trials, Hill threw a new personal best of 21.63 m to finish third and qualify for the 2016 Olympics. His previous personal best of 21.16m was set just two weeks earlier at the Olympic Training Center in Chula Vista, California.

Maggie Malone-Hardin is an American track and field athlete competing in the javelin throw. She holds a personal record of 67.40 meters for the event, set in 2021, a national record. She was the 2016 American national and collegiate record holder and NCAA Division 1 champion. She is the American collegiate record holder. Maggie and Sam Hardin married in 2022.

Felisha Nayomie Johnson is an American track and field athlete who specialises in the shot put. She was the 2015 national indoor champion in the weight throw. She won two NCAA collegiate titles in that event for the Indiana State Sycamores.

Rudy Winkler is an American male track and field athlete who competes in the hammer throw. He is the NACAC area record holder and American record holder with a throw of 82.71 m (271 ft 4 in) for the hammer and holds a personal best of 23.32 m for the weight throw. He was the hammer national champion in 2016 and 2020, winning the 2016. and 2020 United States Olympic Trials.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Maggie Ewen</span> American athlete (born 1994)

Maggie Ewen is an American shot putter. Maggie Ewen earned bronze medal when she threw the discus 59.00 m in Toronto at 2018 NACAC Championships, placed fourth in the shot put at 2019 World Athletics Championships and competed in the women's hammer throw at the 2017 World Championships in Athletics. Ewen set collegiate outdoor records in shot put and hammer.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Marisa Howard</span> American steeplechase runner

Marisa Howard is an American athlete who specializes in the 3000 metres steeplechase. In 2024, Howard qualified for the Olympic Games in Paris by placing third at the 2024 U.S. Olympic Trials in the 3000 meters steeplechase. During the 2024 Paris Olympics, Howard placed seventh in the Round 1, Heat 3 with a time of 9:24.78.

Jessica Ramsey is an American shot putter. She won the bronze medal in the women's shot put event at the 2019 Pan American Games held in Lima, Peru.

References

  1. "Capers Williamson; Profile". worldathletics.org.
  2. "Citadel grad Capers Williamson finishes 6th in Olympic Trials javelin finals; Profile". The Post and Courier.
  3. "Capers Williamson". TFRRS.
  4. 1 2 "'I should be in prison or dead': Wade Hampton grad takes sobering journey to the top in javelin throwing". Greenville News.