Ryan Williams (discus thrower)
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| Personal information | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Nationality | Namibian | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Born | 26 March 2000 Gobabis, Namibia. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 193 cm (6 ft 4 in) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Weight | 115 kg (254 lb) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Sport | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Sport | Athletics | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Event | Discus | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Achievements and titles | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Personal bests | Discus: 61.15m (2023) NR | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Medal record
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Ryan Williams (born 26 March 2000) is a Namibian discus thrower. He is the national record holder and 2026 African Champion. He was a medalist at the 2023 African Games and the 2022 and 2024 African Championships in Athletics.[1]
Biography
[edit]Williams broke the Namibian national record in the discus throw for the first time in 2017 as a teenager while competing in Zimbabwe, with a throw of 45.95 metres. Two years later, as a 19 year-old, Williams broke his own record by more than 2.5 metres in Germany with a new mark of 48.54 metres.[2] In 2019, he won a fourth consecutive discus title at the Namibian Championships, while he won a second gold medal that year in the shot put event with a distance of 14.08m.[3] That year, Williams won two medals at the 2019 African Junior Athletics Championships in Abidjan, Ivory Coast, winning bronze in both the U20 men’s discus and shot-put.[4] He placed fourth in the discus throw at the 2019 African Games in Rabat.[5]
Having increased the national record to 53.92m, he threw 56.70 at Athletics Namibia’s Grand Prix 4 in November 2020.[6] That month, he cleared 56 metres again to win the Namibian national title.[7]
Williams later studied at North-West University in South Africa and competed at the 2022 Commonwealth Games in Birmingham, England, narrowly missing a place in the final with a seventh place finish in his qualifying group with a distance of 55.54 metres.[8][9] He won the bronze medal in the discus at the 2022 African Championships in Athletics in Mauritius with a throw of 56.70 metres.[10]
In April 2023, Williams broke his national discus record by more than three metres while competing in Potchefstroom, South Africa, with a distance of 61.15 metres.[11]
In March 2024, Williams won the bronze medal in the discus at the delayed 2023 African Games in Accra with a throw of 55.42 metres behind Oussama Khennoussi of Algeria and gold medal winner South African Victor Hogan.[12] In June 2024, Williams competed at the 2024 Africa Athletics Championships in Douala, Cameroon, and won the bronze medal in the men’s discus final behind Khennoussi and Victor Hogan. Williams came third with a distance of 56.78 metres.[13]
Williams won the gold medal in the discus throw at the 2026 African Athletics Championships in Accra with a throw of 57.45 metres.[14] He placed eighth in the discus throw at the 2026 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, Scotland.[15]
References
[edit]- ↑ "Ryan Williams". World Athletics. Retrieved 19 April 2026.
- ↑ "Williams smashes national record". Namibian.com. 4 July 2019. Retrieved 19 April 2026.
- ↑ "Williams star performer at Athletics Champs". The Namibian. 9 April 2019. Retrieved 19 April 2026.
- ↑ "Three medals at Junior African Champs". The Namibian. 3 May 2019. Retrieved 19 April 2026.
- ↑ "African Games". World Athletics. 30 August 2019. Retrieved 19 April 2026.
- ↑ "Admin blunder costs athlete". The Namibian. 2 November 2020. Retrieved 19 April 2026.
- ↑ "Williams, Masilingi star at National Champs". The Namibian. 17 November 2020. Retrieved 19 April 2026.
- ↑ Jacobs, Bertie (8 September 2022). "NWU continues to feed South African sport". news.nwu. Retrieved 19 April 2026.
- ↑ "Hainuca through to semis". The Namibian. 3 August 2022. Retrieved 19 April 2026.
- ↑ "African Championships". World Athletics. 10 June 2022. Retrieved 17 April 2026.
- ↑ "Williams breaks discus record". Namibian.com. 4 April 2023. Retrieved 19 April 2026.
- ↑ "Williams wins Namibia's 8th medal". The Namibian. 20 March 2024. Retrieved 19 April 2026.
- ↑ "Williams wins bronze in Douala". The Namibian. 25 June 2024. Retrieved 19 April 2026.
- ↑ "African Athletics Championships". World Athletics. 12 May 2026. Retrieved 5 August 2026.
- ↑ "XXIII Commonwealth Games". World Athletics. 30 July 2026. Retrieved 5 August 2026.
External links
[edit]- Ryan Williams at World Athletics
- Ryan Williams at InterSportStats
- Ryan Williams at the Glasgow 2026 Commonwealth Games
- Ryan Williams at the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games
- Ryan Williams on Instagram
African Champions in men's discus throw | |
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- 2000 births
- Living people
- Namibian discus throwers
- African Games competitors for Namibia
- African Games bronze medalists for Namibia
- African Games bronze medalists in athletics (track and field)
- Athletes (track and field) at the 2023 African Games
- Medalists at the 2023 African Games
- Commonwealth Games competitors for Namibia
- Athletes (track and field) at the 2022 Commonwealth Games
- Athletes (track and field) at the 2026 Commonwealth Games
- 21st-century Namibian sportsmen