Robert Addison "Bobby" Poynter (born December 5, 1937) is an American retired sprinter.

[1][2] He ran collegiately for San Jose State College, where he was coached by Bud Winter.

[7] After getting his master's degree at Cal Poly, he coached at Silver Creek High School and also San Jose City College, taking his protégé Millard Hampton to a 1976 Olympic gold medal and individual silver medal.

He had a similar arrangement taking Andre Phillips to eventually achieving a 1988 gold medal.

[9] After USA failed to put an athlete into the final of the 2012 Olympics 400 meters, Poynter was asked for analysis: "I believe that we do not provide room for younger 400 runners to develop and just rely on retreads.