An Appreciation of Charlie Williams (2013)

An Appreciation of Charlie Williams (2013)

(Charlie Williams died at age 82 in September 2013)

I will always remember Charlie Williams, who was recently time keeping at meetings and winning Masters Championships, well  into his late 70's.
I met Charlie, with his wife Evelyn back in the late 1970's in Hannover and, immediately, realised what a modest, gentle and unassuming man he was. For those reasons he  became very popular with the 'Masters' of the World.
It was that 'Great' sprinter, Emmanuel McDonald Bailey, who suggested to Charlie in Trinidad that Charlie should go to England to live and compete.
In the UK, despite doing demanding jobs, firstly as a car mechanic then, for London Transport 'Night Work' and finally for British Telecom, he achieved a lot as a Polytechnic Harrier. Charlie Williams, represented Trinidad & Tobago in the Empire Games of 1958; defeated European silver  medallist, Dave Segal, in the Kinnaird Trophy  meet over 100yards and, also was only beaten by inches by Dave Sime, the USA Olympic silver medallist, in Bordeaux over 100m but perhaps, he will be mostly remembered for the fact he cut through the veteran age groups, achieving so many records and, World, European and National Masters/Veteran Championship wins.
He competed at the first World Masters Championship in 1975. In the second World Masters in Gothenburg in 1977 he won the 'M45' 100m by three tenths of a second in the Final,  with a time of  11.2.and won the 200, very easily, in 22.9. The second in the final did 23.5! He currently holds the British records of 11.1 for a 45 year old, done in 1978. Has the M65 British records for 200 of 26.06 and 400 with 60.84.
I remember him saying to me in 2008
 "I have always trained on my own and never coached. I just run for the fun of it."
He was a credit to Masters/Veterans athletics and of that there is no doubt.