Steve Williams (born November 13, 1953) is a retired track and field sprinter from the United States. He equalled the men's world records for the 100 m and 200 m with hand-timed runs of 9.9 seconds and 19.8 seconds, respectively, and was also a member of a team that set a world record in the 4 × 100 m relay.

He never competed at the Olympics, but had success at the IAAF World Cup: he won the 100 m and set a world record in the 4×100-meter relay with the US team at the inaugural championship in 1977. He won the 100 yd and 220 yd American titles at the 1973 AAU Championships and retained his short sprint title with a 100 m victory in 1974.

He won the 100 meters at the 1977 IAAF Athletics World Cup in Düsseldorf whilst representing the US. He also anchored the 4x100 meters USA relay team to a new world record time of 38.03 seconds, alongside Bill Collins, Steve Riddick and Cliff Wiley – an event statistician Mark Butler for the IAAF puts in his top 10 men's World Cup moments. Williams also received a bronze medal as a member of the 4x100 meters USA relay team at the 1981 IAAF World Cup in Rome.

At the peak of his career he was claimant to the title the world's fastest man. He recorded four 9.9 seconds hand-timings for the 100 meters, so equalling the then world record. He also jointly held the world record for 220 yards (with Don Quarrie) at 19.9 seconds (achieved in 1975).

Recognized as one of the favorites, his chance of winning the 1976 Olympic 100 meters title was ruined by injury at the quarter-final stage of the USA Olympics trials (the injury suffered was a repeat of the muscle pull he had suffered at the AAU meet earlier in the season). Williams's injury emerged in the qualifying heat in the morning, he grabbed at his thigh 15 meters from the finish line. In the afternoon quarter-final, he could only run 20 meters before pulling-up. The crowd gave him a warm ovation as he sadly left the stadium. The injury also forced him to withdraw from the 200 m trial.

Williams attempted to qualify in the 100 meters again for the Olympics in 1980 (finishing 6th) and 1984 (eliminated at the quarter-final stage) but failed to make the team by finishing in the top three finishers.

Williams emerged as a formidable talent nationally in 1972 with impressive times in the 100, 220 and 440 yards events (9.3/20.3/45.2 respectively). However, an injury suffered at the quarter-final stage of the 200 m event at the Olympic Trials cost him a chance of going to the 1972 Munich Olympics. He first came to the world's attention in 1973, first by tying the world record for 100 yards (at 9.1 seconds), second by winning both the 100 and 220 yards events at the AAU meet (the first person to do this since Ray Norton in 1960), and thirdly by defeating the great Soviet sprinter Valeriy Borzov on the final leg of the sprint relay at the US versus USSR meet in Minsk. He also set the world's best electronically timed performance in the men's 200 meters that year on June 16 at a meet in Bakersfield, clocking 20.33 s. Williams impressive form continued into 1974 where he equalled the 100 m world record, defended his short sprint title at the AAU Championships, and came second at the NCAA Championships 200 meters event.; and 1975 where he equalled the 200 m world record. While on tour in 1974, he won the French national championship and won the British AAA Championships title at the 1974 AAA Championships.

In 1976, after completing his studies at San Diego State University, majoring in English and journalism, he moved to Florida. Here he worked with his coach, Brooks Johnson, at the Florida Track Club, to help achieve his Olympic dream and a "9.8 and 19.6 kind of human excellence". Williams himself has commented on what Brooks was able to show him about his then running style, "I was shocked....I never realized how bad I was. I had been winning by accident." His style was once described as a "quaint, bobbing-and-weaving, shoulder-rolling style that seems to have been choreographed by Bo Diddley" and that in any race he won he "accomplished the feat with soul, style, lousy starts and great finishes" His equalling again of the then world record for 100 meters early in the 1976 season showed that he was on course to achieve his Olympic dream but sadly it would remain unfulfilled. Both Hasely Crawford, the gold medallist, and Don Quarrie, the silver medallist, in the 1976 Montreal Olympics 100 m event have expressed the belief that with Williams there a faster time, possibly a new world record, would have happened.