Shana L. Williams (born April 7, 1972) is a retired American

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 track and field

Track and field

Track and field is a sport comprising various competitive athletic contests based around the activities of running, jumping and throwing. The name of the sport derives from the venue for the competitions: a stadium which features an oval running track surrounding a grassy area...

 athlete who competed in the long jump

Long jump

The long jump is a track and field event in which athletes combine speed, strength, and agility in an attempt to leap as far as possible from a take off point...

. She is a two-time Olympian, having competed in her event at the 1996

1996 Summer Olympics

The 1996 Summer Olympics of Atlanta, officially known as the Games of the XXVI Olympiad and unofficially known as the Centennial Olympics, was an international multi-sport event which was celebrated in 1996 in Atlanta, Georgia, United States....

 and 2000 Summer Olympics

2000 Summer Olympics

The Sydney 2000 Summer Olympic Games or the Millennium Games/Games of the New Millennium, officially known as the Games of the XXVII Olympiad, were an international multi-sport event which was celebrated between 15 September and 1 October 2000 in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia...

. Williams won the silver medal

Silver medal

A silver medal is a medal awarded to the second place finisher of contests such as the Olympic Games, Commonwealth Games, and contests with similar formats....

 at the 1999 IAAF World Indoor Championships

1999 IAAF World Indoor Championships

The 7th IAAF World Indoor Championships in Athletics were held in the Green Dome Maebashi stadium in Maebashi, Japan from March 5 to March 7, 1999. It was the first time the Championships were staged outside Europe or North America. Primo Nebiolo, president of the IAAF, characterized the...

 in Maebashi. Her personal best of 7.01 m ranks her as the fifth best American in the long jump on the all-time lists. She is a two-time USA Indoor

USA Indoor Track and Field Championships

The USA Indoor Track and Field Championships is an annual indoor track and field competition organized by USA Track & Field, which serves as the American national championships for the sport...

 champion and also won the gold medal

Gold medal

A gold medal is typically the medal awarded for highest achievement in a non-military field. Its name derives from the use of at least a fraction of gold in form of plating or alloying in its manufacture...

 at the 1998 Goodwill Games

1998 Goodwill Games

The 1998 Goodwill Games was the fourth edition of the international sports competition, created by Ted Turner in reaction to the political troubles surrounding the Olympic Games of the 1980s. The competition was held in New York, United States from July 19 to August 2, 1998.-Medal table:-References:*...

.

Career

Born in Bridgeton, New Jersey

Bridgeton, New Jersey

Bridgeton is a city in Cumberland County, New Jersey, United States, in the south part of the state, on the Cohansey River, near Delaware Bay. As of the 2010 United States Census, the city population was 25,349. It is the county seat of Cumberland County...

, she attended Bridgeton High School

Bridgeton High School

Bridgeton High School is a comprehensive community public high school that serves students in grades 9-12 from the city of Bridgeton, in Cumberland County, New Jersey, United States, operating as part of the Bridgeton Public Schools, an Abbott District...

 (graduating in 1989) before moving on to Seton Hall University

Seton Hall University

Seton Hall University is a private Roman Catholic university in South Orange, New Jersey, United States. Founded in 1856 by Archbishop James Roosevelt Bayley, Seton Hall is the oldest diocesan university in the United States. Seton Hall is also the oldest and largest Catholic university in the...

. She began to focus on track and field more while attending college, competing in various disciplines as a heptathlete, and had much success in the Big East Conference

Big East Conference

The Big East Conference is a collegiate athletics conference consisting of sixteen universities in the eastern half of the United States. The conference's 17 members participate in 24 NCAA sports...

. She won thirteen Big East track titles at Seton Hall, including four consecutive high jump

High jump

The high jump is a track and field athletics event in which competitors must jump over a horizontal bar placed at measured heights without the aid of certain devices in its modern most practiced format; auxiliary weights and mounds have been used for assistance; rules have changed over the years....

 titles as well as long jump victories in 1990 and 1991. In her final year at the college she came third in the long jump at the NCAA

National Collegiate Athletic Association

The National Collegiate Athletic Association is a semi-voluntary association of 1,281 institutions, conferences, organizations and individuals that organizes the athletic programs of many colleges and universities in the United States...

 Outdoor Championships, finished seventh at the USA Outdoor Track and Field Championships

USA Outdoor Track and Field Championships

The USA Outdoor Track and Field Championships is an annual track and field competition organized by USA Track & Field, which serves as the American national championships for the sport...

, and set a personal record of 6.63 meters to rank fourth nationally for the 1993 season. She also competed at the Summer Universiade that year, coming seventh in the heptathlon.

Her track career faltered in 1994 as she instead began working as the Director of Academic Advisement at the University of Albany. However, she again took up the long jump in seriousness the following year, moving to Eugene, Oregon

Eugene, Oregon

Eugene is the second largest city in the U.S. state of Oregon and the seat of Lane County. It is located at the south end of the Willamette Valley, at the confluence of the McKenzie and Willamette rivers, about east of the Oregon Coast.As of the 2010 U.S...

 to work under the tutelage of Elżbieta Krzesińska

Elzbieta Krzesinska

Elżbieta Krzesińska née Duńska is a retired track and field athlete from Poland, who competed in the long jump. She competed for her native country at the 1956 Summer Olympics held in Melbourne, Australia where she won the gold medal in the Women's Long Jump...

 – a Polish Olympic champion and former world record holder in the event. Williams came second in the long jump behind Jackie Joyner-Kersee

Jackie Joyner-Kersee

Jacqueline "Jackie" Joyner-Kersee is a retired American athlete, ranked among the all-time greatest athletes in the women's heptathlon as well as in the women's long jump. She won three gold, one silver, and two bronze Olympic medals, in those four different events...

 at the 1995 USA Indoor Track and Field Championships

USA Indoor Track and Field Championships

The USA Indoor Track and Field Championships is an annual indoor track and field competition organized by USA Track & Field, which serves as the American national championships for the sport...

 and thus qualified for the 1995 IAAF World Indoor Championships

1995 IAAF World Indoor Championships

The 5th IAAF World Indoor Championships in Athletics were held at the Palau Sant Jordi in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain from 10 March to 12 March 1995. There were a total number of 602 participating athletes from 130 countries.-Men:-Women:-Medal table:...

. In her first major international appearance, she came fourth in her qualifier but did not reach the final. She greatly improved the following year, winning the US Indoor title with a best of 6.79 m and then improving this further to 7.01 m at the US Olympic Track Trials

United States Olympic Trials (track and field)

The United States Olympic Trials for the sport of Track and Field is the quadrennial meet to select the United States representatives at the Olympic Games. Since 1992, the meet has also served as the USA Outdoor Track and Field Championships. Because of the depth of competition in some events,...

. She was runner-up at the trials to Joyner-Kersee but as a top three finisher she gained automatic qualification into the 1996 Atlanta Olympics. On her Olympic debut on home soil she failed to record a mark, fouling three times, and was eliminated from the competition.

She came second at the 1997 US Indoors behind Dawn Burrell

Dawn Burrell

Dawn C. Burrell-Campbell is a retired long jumper from the United States, who is best known for winning the gold medal at the 2001 IAAF World Indoor Championships.. BBC Sport . Retrieved on 2011-01-05. She represented the United States at the 2000 Summer Olympics...

 and was selected for the 1997 IAAF World Indoor Championships

1997 IAAF World Indoor Championships

The 6th IAAF World Indoor Championships in Athletics were held at the Palais Omnisports de Paris-Bercy in Paris, France from March 7 to March 9, 1997. It was the first athletic championships to introduce women's pole vault...

, where she finished twelfth in the final. She was fourth at the outdoor nationals and finished the year with a season's best of 6.64 m. She regained her form in the 1998 season, taking second place at both the indoor and outdoor US Championships, and jumped 6.97 m in Philadelphia in April. She took the long jump gold medal

Gold medal

A gold medal is typically the medal awarded for highest achievement in a non-military field. Its name derives from the use of at least a fraction of gold in form of plating or alloying in its manufacture...

 at the 1998 Goodwill Games

Athletics at the 1998 Goodwill Games

At the 1998 Goodwill Games, the athletics events were held at the Mitchel Athletic Complex in Uniondale, New York, United States from 19 to 22 July. The programme consisted of 44 track and field events, of which 22 were contested by male athletes and 22 by female athletes...

, beating reigning world champion Lyudmila Galkina

Lyudmila Galkina

Lyudmila Galkina is a Russian athlete. She won the European Junior Championships in 1991 as a triple jumper, but thereafter later focused on the long jump. Her greatest achievement was taking the World Championship title in 1997, with a personal best jump of 7.05 metres.-Achievements:- External...

 with a wind-assisted mark of 6.93 m. She closed the season with a sixth place finish at the 1998 IAAF Grand Prix Final

1998 IAAF Grand Prix Final

The 14th IAAF Grand Prix Final was held at the Luzhniki Stadium in Moscow, Russia on September 5, 1998.-Men:- Women :-External links:*...

 and her performances ranked her as the seventh best jumper in the world and second best American. She had her best indoor performances in the next season, taking the national indoor title and competing at the 1999 IAAF World Indoor Championships

1999 IAAF World Indoor Championships

The 7th IAAF World Indoor Championships in Athletics were held in the Green Dome Maebashi stadium in Maebashi, Japan from March 5 to March 7, 1999. It was the first time the Championships were staged outside Europe or North America. Primo Nebiolo, president of the IAAF, characterized the...

. In the world long jump competition she set an indoor career best of 6.82 m, which brought her the silver medal behind Tatyana Kotova

Tatyana Kotova

Tatyana Vladimirovna Kotova is an athlete who competes for Russia in the long jump. Her personal best was a jump of 7.42 m at Annecy in 2002. In September, 2000 she was injured in a car accident....

. Williams was third at that year's outdoor US Championships and had her season's best jump of 6.76 m in Linz

Linz

Linz is the third-largest city of Austria and capital of the state of Upper Austria . It is located in the north centre of Austria, approximately south of the Czech border, on both sides of the river Danube. The population of the city is , and that of the Greater Linz conurbation is about...

 in July. By merit of her national performance, she earned selection for the 1999 World Championships in Athletics

1999 World Championships in Athletics

The 7th World Championships in Athletics, under the auspices of the International Association of Athletics Federations, were held at the Estadio Olímpico, Seville, Spain, between the August 20 and August 29....

. In her only appearance at the competition, she finished twelfth in the final.

After second place at the 2000 indoor nationals, she set her sights on making the US Olympic Team

United States at the 2000 Summer Olympics

The United States competed at the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney, Australia.- Gold:* Athletics** Men’s 100 metre sprint: Maurice Greene in a time of 9.87 seconds...

. She cleared 6.80 m and then had a wind-assisted jump of 6.87 m, taking third place and a spot at the Olympics. Competing at the 2000 Sydney Olympics, she failed to progress past the qualifiers into the Olympic long jump final, managing 21st overall. Her final US Outdoor appearance came the following year, where she took fourth place in the long jump. She pursued academia after her track career and gained a masters in exercise science from Syracuse University

Syracuse University

Syracuse University is a private research university located in Syracuse, New York, United States. Its roots can be traced back to Genesee Wesleyan Seminary, founded by the Methodist Episcopal Church in 1832, which also later founded Genesee College...

.

Major competition record

1995	World Indoor Championships 1995 IAAF World Indoor Championships The 5th IAAF World Indoor Championships in Athletics were held at the Palau Sant Jordi in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain from 10 March to 12 March 1995. There were a total number of 602 participating athletes from 130 countries.-Men:-Women:-Medal table:...	Barcelona Barcelona Barcelona is the second largest city in Spain after Madrid, and the capital of Catalonia, with a population of 1,621,537 within its administrative limits on a land area of... , Spain	4th (qualifiers)
1996	Olympic Games Athletics at the 1996 Summer Olympics At the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta, 44 events in athletics were contested, 24 by men and 20 by women. There were a total number of 2053 participating athletes from 191 countries.-Men:...	Atlanta, Georgia Atlanta, Georgia Atlanta is the capital and most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia. According to the 2010 census, Atlanta's population is 420,003. Atlanta is the cultural and economic center of the Atlanta metropolitan area, which is home to 5,268,860 people and is the ninth largest metropolitan area in... , United States	—	No mark
1997	World Indoor Championships 1997 IAAF World Indoor Championships The 6th IAAF World Indoor Championships in Athletics were held at the Palais Omnisports de Paris-Bercy in Paris, France from March 7 to March 9, 1997. It was the first athletic championships to introduce women's pole vault...	Paris Paris Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region... , France	12th
1998	Goodwill Games Athletics at the 1998 Goodwill Games At the 1998 Goodwill Games, the athletics events were held at the Mitchel Athletic Complex in Uniondale, New York, United States from 19 to 22 July. The programme consisted of 44 track and field events, of which 22 were contested by male athletes and 22 by female athletes...	Uniondale, New York Uniondale, New York Uniondale is a hamlet as well as a suburb of New York City in Nassau County, New York, United States, on Long Island, in the Town of Hempstead. The population was 24,759 at the 2010 United States Census.-Geography:... , United States	1st
1999	World Indoor Championships 1999 IAAF World Indoor Championships The 7th IAAF World Indoor Championships in Athletics were held in the Green Dome Maebashi stadium in Maebashi, Japan from March 5 to March 7, 1999. It was the first time the Championships were staged outside Europe or North America. Primo Nebiolo, president of the IAAF, characterized the...	Maebashi, Japan	2nd
	World Championships 1999 World Championships in Athletics The 7th World Championships in Athletics, under the auspices of the International Association of Athletics Federations, were held at the Estadio Olímpico, Seville, Spain, between the August 20 and August 29....	Seville Seville Seville is the artistic, historic, cultural, and financial capital of southern Spain. It is the capital of the autonomous community of Andalusia and of the province of Seville. It is situated on the plain of the River Guadalquivir, with an average elevation of above sea level... , Spain	12th	6.52 m
2000	Olympic Games Athletics at the 2000 Summer Olympics At the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney, 46 events in athletics were contested, 24 for men and 22 for women. There were a total number of 2134 participating athletes from 193 countries.-Men's events:...	Sydney Sydney Sydney is the most populous city in Australia and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney is located on Australia's south-east coast of the Tasman Sea. As of June 2010, the greater metropolitan area had an approximate population of 4.6 million people... , Australia	21st (qualifiers)	6.44 m