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William Mervin Mills (born June 30, 1938), also known by his Oglala Lakota name Tamakhóčhe Theȟíla, is an American Oglala Lakota former track and field athlete who won a gold medal in the 10,000 metre run (6.2 mi) at the 1964 Tokyo Olympics.
Jun 11, 2013 · Clarke led, then Gammoudi and then, to the astonishment of both the frontrunners, Mills sprinted past to win by almost three metres, beating his own personal best time by 47 seconds.
Jun 26, 2024 · Billy Mills (born June 30, 1938, Pine Ridge, South Dakota, U.S.) is an athlete who was the first American to win an Olympic gold medal in the 10,000-metre race, achieving a dramatic upset victory at the 1964 Olympic Games in Tokyo.
Jul 23, 2020 · Mills’ electrifying sprint in the final straight to overtake the leaders and win the 10,000m gold medal in Tokyo and his personal and spiritual journey to ‘heal a broken soul’ resonate more than ever in today’s turbulent times of racial protest.
Billy has been changing the lives of thousands of Native Americans across the country for decades. Read Billy’s CV here for his lifetime of service, awards, and other achievements.
The story of Billy Mills, the only American to this day to have won 10,000m Olympic gold, is so remarkable that it is the subject of a 1983 film entitled Running Brave. A member of the Ogala Sioux tribe, Mills endured a harsh upbringing in the Pine Ridge Native American Reservation in South Dakota.
Billy Mills was the man no-one expected to win at the Olympic Games. But when he left Tokyo 1964, not only would he be one of its brightest stars, he also went on to make his mark in the world as a humanitarian and a fierce campaigner for racial and social justice.
May 28, 2010 · Only one runner in the Western Hemisphere has ever won an Olympic gold in the 10,000m: Native American Billy Mills. In his interview with Take The Magic Step®, Billy reflects on that magical moment 46 years ago in Tokyo and reveals his personal struggles and how they empowered him to win.
Jun 11, 2018 · Billy Mills (born 1938) won what sports writers called the most sensational race ever run in Olympic history. A relative unknown, he came from behind to beat world champion runners in the 1964 Tokyo Olympic Games.
May 22, 2020 · For Billy Mills, who lost both his parents and faced racism growing up, the Olympic 10,000 meter race was about much more than a medal.
