| Collegeteam: | Oklahoma Sooners |
William Snoddy (born December 6, 1957)[1] is a former sprinter from the United States. He achieved most success in the 200-meter dash where he was NCAA champion in 1977.
In 1978, Snoddy ran the 100-meter dash in a heavily wind-assisted time of 9.87 seconds – then the fastest time ever recorded for a 100 m race. The wind speed was recorded at 25 mph.
Snoddy was a star sprinter at Nathan Hale High School setting a state age record in the 220 y dash of 21.0 s,[2] and won two state championships at the distance in consecutive years, 1975 and 1976.[3] Snoddy attended the University of Oklahoma.[4] As a college freshman, Snoddy became NCAA champion (US collegiate champion) in 1977 over 200 m. He recorded a winning time of 20.48 s, then a low-altitude meeting record, at Champaign, Illinois on June 4. The following year, as a college sophomore, he was second, recording a time of 20.28 s at the meeting in Eugene, Oregon on June 3.[5] On 1 April 1978, at a meet in Dallas, Texas, Snoddy ran 100 m in the wind-assisted time of 9.87 s then the fastest time ever recorded for a 100 m race.[6] [7] He also won Indoor College Conference titles at 300 yards in 1977 and 1978.,[8] setting the University of Oklahoma record of 29.47 s in 1978.[9] Snoddy returned to run track again in the 1980s after a hiatus. He achieved some moderate success - in 1987 he won the New Year Sprint race (110 m handicap race) in Scotland.[10] [11]
Snoddy left college early after two years and joined the United States Navy.[4]
He later worked as a water supervisor for the city of Houston and in airport security for TSA, the airport-security organization.[4]
Snoddy was ranked in the top ten 200 m sprinters in the world in 1977 and 1978, according to the votes of the experts of Track and Field News.[12] [13]
| Year | World rank | US rank |
|---|---|---|
| 1977 | 8th | 4th |
| 1978 | 8th | 3rd |