College: University of Southern California
Event: High Jump – 2.37 meters / 7 feet, 9.25 inches
Coach: Cliff Rovelto

Williams joined OTC Elite in the summer of 2010, just prior to becoming the 2010 US National high jump champion on June 27. He lives and trains in Eugene under coach Cliff Rovelto.

Professional: Williams began his 2012 indoor season with a win in Madison Square Garden at the US Open. Jesse first broke the 2.30 meters / 7-foot, 6-inch barrier for the season in Slovakia during the Europa High Jump Meeting. He then entered the USA Indoor Championships as the two-time defending champion and he left with his third consecutive title. At the IAAF Indoor Championships in Istanbul, Turkey, Jesse finished 6th. Williams wore the gold Nike singlet at the debut Diamond Leauge in Doha, Qatar, signifying his status as the reigning world champion. In both the Rome and Doha meetings, Williams finished with second-place points. Williams returned home to Eugene, Ore. for the US Olympic Trials. He qualified through the prelims easily. In the final, he was one of three jumpers to have the Olympic 'A' standard. He had the Hayward crowd on edge when he cleared his final two heights on his final jump. He finished fourth, but having previously cleared the Olympic 'A', he made his second Olympic Team. Before competing at the Olympics, Jesse set his season best in Monaco, 2.33m / 7-7 ½. In London, Williams qualified through the prelims to the final where he finished 9th. The Diamond League competition resumed for Jesse in Lausanne, Switzerland. He finished 7th in Lausanne and 4th at the following meet in Zurich, good for second in the overall standings.

Williams had quite the indoor season in the winter of 2011. He started out with a third-place showing in Trinec, Czech Republic in late January, and three days later won in Glasgow with a jump of 2.28m / 7-6. Then in February, he improved to 2.31m / 7-6 ¾ with a third-place showing in Moscow. And three days after that, Williams cleared a season-best mark of 2.34m – 7-8 in Banska, Bystrica, taking second to 2011 indoor world leader Ivan Ukhov. He capped off his month-long competition season with a USA Indoor Track and Field title on February 26 and a sixth-place showing at the 2011 IAAF World Indoor Championships two weeks later. ... Outdoor season for Williams began with a victory and a meet record at the highly-acclaimed Mt. SAC Relays in April (2.34m / 7-8). Prior to the USA Outdoor Track & Field Championships, Jesse competed in three Diamond League meets, with 1st, 3rd and 5th place finishes. Williams lit up the Hayward crowd during the US Championships when he set his personal best to 2.37m – 7- ¼. He followed this up with a couple attempts at the American Record of 2.41m. Williams returned to Diamond League competition before the IAAF World Championships with two second-place finishes, making him the points leader in the league. At the World Championships in Daegu, South Korea, Willams finished second in the prelims. Then in the final, Williams cleared every jump on his first attempt to win his first World Championship title. Jesse returned to the Diamond League in Zurich to win the overall title in the high jump.

In addition to winning the 2010 USATF Outdoor Championships gold medal with a mark of 2.26 meters, Williams had a stellar outdoor season in 2010, winning a pair of Grand Prix events in Karlstad (2.22m) and Goteburg (2.22m) and finishing as the runner-up at five Diamond League meets and third in a sixth Diamond League competition. In the 2010 Track and Field News rankings, Williams finished second in the world to Russia’s Ivan Ukhov. … He won two indoor meets in 2010, including the USATF Indoor Championships, where he cleared a season-best bar of 2.34m. His best outdoor mark of the year was a 2.30m clearance in New York.

Previous years: In 2009, Williams set his personal indoor best of 2.36 meters in February at Banska, Bystrica. In June of that year, Williams set his career outdoor best of 2.34 meters at the Oregon Twilight meet … He also did well at Eugene’s Hayward Field in 2008 when Williams was the 2008 US Olympic Trials high jump champion. A month later in Bejing, he failed to advance out of the qualifying rounds at the 2008 Summer Olympics. He finished third at the 2008 World Athletics Final and was sixth at the World Indoor Championships. … In 2007 and 2006, Williams placed eighth at the World Athletics Final.

College: Williams graduated from USC in 2006 after winning four NCAA Division I championships. In fact, in 2005 and 2006, Williams was undefeated at NCAA Championship meets. He brought home titles both indoors and outdoors in 2005 and 2006. He is still the Trojans and the Pac-10 Conference record holder with a mark of 2.32 meters.

High School: Williams prepped at Broughton High School in Raleigh, North Carolina. He finished fourth at the 2002 World Junior Championships. Also a star wrestler at Broughton, Williams finished third at the North Carolina State Wrestling Championships as a senior.

Personal: Born December 27, 1983.

PERSONAL BESTS – Outdoor
High Jump – 2.37 meters (7-9.25) – USA Outdoor Championships, Eugene, Ore. - June 26, 2011

PERSONAL BESTS – Indoor
High Jump – 2.36 meters (7-8 ¾) – Banska, Bystrica, February 11, 2009