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Harrison Dillard
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Olympic medal record | |||
| Men's athletics | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gold | 1948 London | 100 m | |
| Gold | 1948 London | 4x100 m relay | |
| Gold | 1952 Helsinki | 110 m hurdles | |
| Gold | 1952 Helsinki | 4x100 m relay | |
William Harrison Dillard (born July 8, 1923) is an American athlete, the only male so far to win Olympic titles in both sprinting and hurdling events.
Born in Cleveland, Ohio, Harrison Dillard, after serving army duty during World War II, returned to college, joined Pi Lambda Phi International Fraternity, and resumed athletics, to which he had been inspired by Jesse Owens, who was also from Cleveland and attended East Technical High School as well. He particularly excelled in hurdling, and was probably the best hurdler in the world shortly after the war. However, at the trials for the 1948 Summer Olympics, Dillard failed to qualify for the 110 m hurdles event, although he qualified as third (and last) for the 100 m, not his specialty.
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. As a member of the 4 x 100 m relay team, he won another gold medal at the London Games.
Four years later, still a strong hurdler, Dillard did qualify for the 110 m hurdles event, and won the event in Helsinki. Another 4 x 100 m relay victory yielded Dillard's fourth Olympic title.
Harrison Dillard attempted to qualify for a third Olympics in 1956, but failed.
In his 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.
| Olympic champions in men's 100 m |
|---|
| 1896: Tom Burke | 1900: Frank Jarvis | 1904: Archie Hahn | 1908: Reggie Walker | 1912: Ralph Craig | 1920: Charlie Paddock | 1924: Harold Abrahams | 1928: Percy Williams | 1932: Eddie Tolan | 1936: Jesse Owens | 1948: Harrison Dillard | 1952: Lindy Remigino | 1956: Bobby Joe Morrow | 1960: Armin Hary | 1964: Bob Hayes | 1968: Jim Hines | 1972: Valeri Borzov | 1976: Hasely Crawford | 1980: Allan Wells | 1984: Carl Lewis | 1988: Carl Lewis | 1992: Linford Christie | 1996: Donovan Bailey | 2000: Maurice Greene | 2004: Justin Gatlin |
| Olympic champions in men's 110 m hurdles |
|---|
| 1896: Thomas Curtis | 1900: Alvin Kraenzlein | 1904: Frederick Schule | 1904: Robert Leavitt | 1908: Forrest Smithson | 1912: Frederick Kelly | 1920: Earl Thomson | 1924: Daniel Kinsey | 1928: Sydney Atkinson | 1932: George Saling | 1936: Forrest Towns | 1948: William Porter | 1952: Harrison Dillard | 1956: Lee Calhoun | 1960: Lee Calhoun | 1964: Hayes Jones | 1968: Willie Davenport | 1972: Rod Milburn | 1976: Guy Drut | 1980: Thomas Munkelt | 1984: Roger Kingdom | 1988: Roger Kingdom | 1992: Mark McKoy | 1996: Allen Johnson | 2000: Anier García | 2004: Liu Xiang |
| Olympic champions in men's 4×100 m relay |
|---|
| 1912 1920 1924 1928 1932 1936 1948 1952 1956 1960 1964 1968 1972 1976 1980 1984 1988 1992 1996 2000 2004 |
| 1948 United States Barney Ewell, Lorenzo Wright, Harrison Dillard & Mel Patton 1952 United States Dean Smith, Harrison Dillard, Lindy Remigino & Andy Stanfield |