Harrison Dillard

William Harrison "Bones" Dillard (July 8, 1923 – November 15, 2019) was an American track and field athlete, who is the only male in the history of the Olympic Games to win gold in both the 100 meter (sprints) and the 110 meter hurdles, making him the “World’s Fastest Man” in 1948 and the “World’s Fastest Hurdler” in 1952.

Harrison Dillard
Dillard at 1952 Summer Olympics
Personal information
Full nameWilliam Harrison Dillard[1]
Born(1923-07-08)July 8, 1923
Cleveland, Ohio, U.S.
DiedNovember 15, 2019(2019-11-15) (aged 96)
Cleveland, Ohio, U.S.
Height5 ft 10 in (178 cm)[1]
Weight152 lb (69 kg)[1]
Sport
SportAthletics
Event(s)100 m, 200 m
110 m, 400 m hurdles
ClubBaldwin-Wallace College
Achievements and titles
Personal best(s)100 m – 10.50 (1948)
200 m – 20.8 (1948)
110 mH – 13.6 (1948)[1]
400 mH – 53.7 (1942)[2]
Medal record
Representing the  United States
Olympic Games
1948 London100 m
1948 London4×100 m relay
1952 Helsinki110 m hurdles
1952 Helsinki4×100 m relay
Foreign Office Minister Alistair Burt with Harrison Dillard holding the 1948 London Olympics torch, August 1, 2012.

Early life and career

Dillard was born in Cleveland, Ohio on July 8, 1923[3][1] and attended East Technical High School. He entered Baldwin-Wallace College in 1941 and joined Pi Lambda Phi International Fraternity, and two years later was drafted into the U.S. Army serving in the all-black 92nd Infantry Division known as the Buffalo Soldiers.[4] He returned to college in 1946 and resumed athletics, to which he had been inspired by Jesse Owens, who was also from Cleveland and had attended East Technical High School as well. He won the NCAA and AAU 120-yard and 220-yard hurdles in both 1946 and 1947 and he tied world records in both events with a 22.3 in the 220 in 1946 and a 13.6 in the 120. Between June 1947 and June 1948 he remained unbeaten in 82 consecutive finals, a record until broken by Ed Moses.

Olympic Games
Official Video Highlights, Dillard winning 1948 100 meters Dillard winning 1952 110 meters hurdles

At the trials for the 1948 Summer Olympics, Dillard failed to qualify for the 110 m hurdles event, but qualified for the 100 m after finishing third.

At the Games, Dillard reached the final, which seemed to end in a dead heat between Dillard and another American, Barney Ewell. The finish photo showed Dillard had won, equalling the World record as well. This was the first use of a photo finish at an Olympic Games.[5] As a member of the 4 × 100 m relay team, he won another gold medal at the London Games.[1]

Four years later, still a strong hurdler, Dillard did qualify for the 110 m hurdles event, and won the event in Helsinki.[3] Another 4 × 100 m relay victory yielded Dillard's fourth Olympic title. Dillard attempted to qualify for a third Olympics in 1956, but failed (finishing seventh in the trials final [6]). Earlier he took part in and won the gold medal in the 110m hurdles at the 1953 Maccabiah Games.[7][8]

Later years

Dillard worked for the Cleveland Indians baseball franchise in scouting and public relations capacities, and hosted a radio talk show on Cleveland's WERE. He also worked for the Cleveland City School District for many years as its Business Manager.[1] Dillard died on November 15, 2019, at the age of 96 of stomach cancer.[9] At the time of his death he was the United States' oldest living Olympic gold medallist.[10]

Competition record
YearCompetitionVenuePositionEventNotes
Representing  United States
1948 Olympics London, England 1st 100 m 10.3 (=OR)
1948 Olympics London, England 1st 4x100 m relay 40.6
1952 Olympics Helsinki, Finland 1st 110 m hurdles 13.9 (OR)
1952 Olympics Helsinki, Finland 1st 4x100 m relay 40.1

Awards and honors

World Rankings

Dillard was ranked among the best in the world in both the 100 m/100 y sprint and 110 m/120 y sprint hurdle events from 1947 to 1953, according to the votes of the experts of Track and Field News.[12] [13][note 1]

Year World rank 100 m World rank 110 m hurdles
1947 9th 1st
1948 1st 2nd
1949 7th 2nd
1950 - -
1951 - -
1952 - 1st
1953 - 6th

World Records

Dillard in his career posted the following world record and world best times.[note 2][note 3][14]

Dillard achieved the following world records during his track career:[15]

  • 120 y (110 m) hurdles of 13.6 s in Lawrence at the Kansas Relays on 17 April 1948;
  • 220 y hurdles (straight course) of 22.5s in Delaware on 8 June 1946;
  • 220 y hurdles (straight course) of 22.3 s in Salt Lake City on 21 June 1947.

He also ran the following world best times that were never ratified by the sport's governing body, the IAAF:

  • 220 y hurdles (turn) of 23.0 in Minneapolis on 22 June 1946;
  • 220 y hurdles (straight course) of 22.5 s in Berea, Ohio on 20 May 1947.

Notes
  1. Rankings started in 1947.
  2. 120 yards is 109.73m, a difference of 27 cm with 110 m. This means for record purposes there is no conversion factor applied for hand-timing when converting between times recorded for the two distances.
  3. 200 m/220 y hurdle events over a turn were accepted as world records to 1 January 1959; 200 m/220 y hurdle events were removed as world record events in 1969.

References
  1. "Harrison Dillard". sports-reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on April 17, 2020. Retrieved June 6, 2015.
  2. Harrison Dillard. trackfield.brinkster.net
  3. "Harrison Dillard". olympic.org. International Olympic Committee. Retrieved June 6, 2015.
  4. Olympians Harrison Dillard and Herb Douglas recall life, times and the 1948 London Summer games
  5. Jackson, Peter (July 24, 2012) London's three Olympic Games compared
  6. Richard Hymans. "US Olympic Trials History - 1956" (PDF). Track and Field News.
  7. http://www.drmirkin.com/histories-and-mysteries/mal-whitfield-olympian-and-tuskegee-airman.html
  8. YNET News: Maccabiah's Best Athletes. ynetnews.com (July 16, 2005)
  9. Dolgan, Bob (November 15, 2019). "Track legend Harrison Dillard, four-time Olympic champion, dies at 96". Cleveland.com. Brooklyn, Ohio: Advance Publications. Retrieved November 15, 2019.
  10. "Harrison Dillard: Former Olympic 100m and 110m hurdles champion dies aged 96". BBC. November 16, 2019. Retrieved November 20, 2019.
  11. Litsky, Frank (November 17, 2019). "Harrison Dillard, World's Best Hurdler in the 1940s, Dies at 96". The New York Times.
  12. "World Rankings Index--Men's 100 meters" (PDF). Track and Field News. Retrieved January 24, 2020.
  13. "World Rankings Index--Men's 110 Hurdles" (PDF). Track and Field News. Retrieved January 24, 2020.
  14. Progression of IAAF World Records 2011 Edition, Editor Imre Matrahazi, IAAF Athletics, p vii.
  15. Progression of IAAF World Records 2011 Edition, Editor Imre Matrahazi, IAAF Athletics, p 468.

Further reading
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