William ‘Liam’ Williams served as cox of the men’s coxed pair at the 1980 Moscow Olympic Games alongside Denis Rice and Christy O’Brien, in a crew that had been one of Ireland’s most high-profile medal contenders after recording two second-place finishes at the Lucerne regatta.

The crew’s Moscow campaign was devastated by illness, with O’Brien falling ill before the opening heat and Rice contracting a more severe bout before the repechage. Williams and his crewmates were ultimately withdrawn from the little final on medical advice. Denis Rice was hospitalised for several weeks after returning from Moscow.