Micah Williams, Oregon's Olympic sprinter, will miss track season following knee surgery
Micah Williams' dream of playing football came with a cost.
The Olympian, NCAA champion, and record-setting sprinter for Oregon track and field, who joined the Ducks' football team as wide receiver last season, injured his knee in the fall and had surgery in late November or early December and will miss all of the 2024 track season, coach Jerry Schumacher said Tuesday.
That the injury came during an Olympic year makes it especially painful for Williams, who was expecting to compete this summer in the U.S. Olympic Trials at Hayward Field for a chance to make the 2024 Summer Games in Paris.
Williams went to the Tokyo Olympics in 2021 as member of the Team USA relay pool after finishing fifth at the Olympic Trials.
The junior has been noticeably absent from the team during the indoor season and for the second straight season he will miss the NCAA Indoor Track & Field Championships. Last season a hamstring injury kept from the national meet, though he returned to win the Pac-12 in the 100 and run a season-best 9.99 seconds in the NCAA Outdoor final.
In August, Williams joined the Oregon football team during fall camp despite not having played organized football since his freshman year at Benson High School in Portland. He never played in a game for the Ducks.
“He wanted to play football this year," Schumacher said. "Part of us being a coach, a teacher, and educator is letting young people chase things they dream about and are excited about and want to pursue.”
Schumacher didn't give exact details about the injury, or how or when it happened.
Williams is the school record-holder in the 100 with a wind-legal 9.86, a time that also makes him the second-fastest performer in collegiate history. He won the NCAA indoor national title in the 60 as a freshman in 2021 and his indoor PR of 6.48 is also the school record.
Assuming he gets a medical redshirt season for 2024, Williams will return to the Ducks with the option of two more outdoor seasons in an Oregon uniform if he chooses.
Follow Chris Hansen on Twitter @chansen_RG or email at chansen@registerguard.com. For more sports coverage, visit registerguard.com. Want more stories like this? Subscribe to get unlimited access and support local journalism.
This article originally appeared on Register-Guard: Oregon Ducks sprinter Micah Williams out for season with knee injury
