Williams was voted Young Welsh Sports Personality of the Year in 1977 after being placed in the junior weightlifting championships. He joined the army and served with the Royal Welsh Fusiliers until 2003. In 2003, Williams was appointed as the first National Weightlifting Coach for Wales.
Returning to the sport, Williams won the Welsh weightlifting championships in 1983 and the Celtic Nations title the following year. Williams won the gold medal in the featherweight class at the 1986 Commonwealth Games in Edinburgh, beating David Lowenstein of Australia and Jeffrey Brice, a fellow Welshman.
