Jeffrey "Jeff" Williams (born December 31, 1965) is an American former track and field athlete who specialized in the 200-meter dash.

[1] Williams was unusual for an elite male runner at the time in that he had a female coach: 1968 Olympic gold medallist Barbara Ferrell.

[3] After graduating in 1987 with a degree in social sciences he was unusual for a track athlete in that he supported himself without help from a sponsorship deal.

[3] He began making regular appearances at the USA Outdoor Track and Field Championships: in 1989 he reached the 100 m semi-finals and the 200 m finals and improved the following year to finish seventh in the 100 m and sixth in the 200 m. Williams gained international experience at the 1991 Pan American Games where he took 100 m bronze behind compatriot Andre Cason,[4] although he was disqualified with the US 4×100-meter relay team.

[3] Following advice from his father, Williams decided to take track seriously from 1992 onwards and he began working with 1968 Olympic silver medallist Barbara Ferrell – it was highly unusual for a woman to coach an elite male runner, but Williams was unperturbed, saying: "I've heard people say a woman can't coach a man, but they must be lying, because look what she has done for me".

[2] He made his first attempt to qualify at the United States Olympic Trials in 1992, but he was sixth in the 100 m semi-finals and finished last in the 200 m.[3] Despite this, he was selected for the IAAF World Cup in Athletics and won the bronze in the 200 m and helped the US relay team to a gold medal.

[8] In the final he ran a personal record time of 20.18 seconds and was rewarded with the bronze medal, having finished behind Fredericks and Johnson.

[13] Although retired from the elite scene, Williams still competes in masters athletics competitions, running in the M40 class.