2018 – Athletics

Billy Mills, also known as Tamakoce Te’Hila (Oglala Sioux), who was a track and field athlete, won a gold medal in the 10,000-meter run at the 1964 Tokyo Olympics. His 1964 victory is considered one of the greatest Olympic upsets. 

Mills was raised on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation. Mills took up running while attending Haskell Institute, in Lawrence, Kansas where he won the 1956 KSHSAA Class B State Championship in Cross Country. He attended the University of Kansas on an athletic scholarship, and was a three-time NCAA All-America cross-country runner. In 1960, he won the individual title at the Big Eight cross-country championship. After graduating in 1962, with a degree in physical education, Mills entered the United States Marine Corps. He was a First Lieutenant in the Marine Corps Reserve when he competed in the 1964 Olympics.

The favorite in 1964 for the 10,000-meter event was Ron Clarke of Australia, who held the world record. Mills was largely unknown as a runner. His time in the heats was a minute slower than Clarke’s record time. With two laps to go, only two runners were still with Clarke. He had run a world record time of 28:15.6, while neither Gammoudi nor Mills had previously run under 29 minutes. Mills and Clarke were running together, with Gammoudi immediately behind, as they entered the final lap. Mills pulled out to lane 4 and sprinted past them both!

Mills is the co-founder of the nonprofit Running Strong for American Indian Youth. Mills is the subject of the 1983 movie Running Brave. President Barack Obama awarded Mills the 2012 Presidential Citizens Medal.