William Paulus is an American former competition swimmer and world record-holder. In 1980, he qualified for the U.S. Olympic team; however, he did not attend the Olympics due to the United States-led boycott of the 1980 Summer Olympics in Moscow. Paulus' times from the 1980 U.S. Olympic Trials would have won two gold medals at the 1980 Olympics. He held the 100-meter butterfly world record from 1981 to 1983.