Still Running Brave – ?64 gold medalist continues race against prejudice
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Billy Mills, a gold medalist at the 1964 Olympic games, was the guest of honor at the Bridgestone/Firestone plant as he spoke to members of the Bridgestone team and local athletes from the Warren County High School girls soccer team and the track squads.
Born in Pine Ridge, S.D., in 1938, Mills is a Native-American of the Oglala Sioux tribe and in the 1964 Olympics won the 10,000-meter race at the Tokyo games. To date no other American has won a gold medal in the 10,000 meters.
In 1983 a movie, ?Running Brave,? was released displaying Mills? triumph over prejudice, pain and himself.
Mills overcame many obstacles in his life, and said coming from obscurity to win the 10,000 meters was far from his biggest challenge.
?After losing both of my parents at the age of 12, I started to get involved in athletics,? he recalled. ?Running gave me the opportunity to fight against poverty and to encourage our youth to believe in the power of their dreams.?
Through his running Mills was able to attend the University of Kansas, but it was there he fought through one of his biggest obstacles in life ? prejudice. Despite being named as an All-American three times and leading his team to NCAA national championships in 1959 and 1960, the color of his skin still kept Mills out of the spotlight.
?There were many times when I wanted to give up,? he said, ?but each time I would remember something my dad told me when I was very young: ?Look beyond the hurt, your angry life will take you on a journey to a destiny.? I had reached an incredible balance of humility at this point in my life.?
An unknown among international track and field circles when he reached the 1964 Olympics, Mills made a name for himself in the last 100 meters of the race, when he surprisingly found a huge burst of energy and sprinted past surprised competitors Ron Clarke and Mohammad Gammoudi, who were favored to win the race.
He worked his way to the front of the pack on the final turn, and described how he kept telling himself he could win. When he broke the tape, Mills had not only captured the gold, but had set a new Olympic record of 28 minutes, 24 seconds.
After the Olympics he went on to set several more records in distance running before retiring from competition. Today, he tours the world delivering his inspirational message.
?My main focus today is to promote global unity for the importance of humankind,? he said. ?With achievement comes honor, with honor comes responsibility. We have to teach young people to be critical thinkers and change our global diversity on racism.
?I personally pray daily to bring diversity to the world. Everyone should have a dream, but you have to follow your dream. Every dream has a passion, and every passion has a destiny. We can overcome all the obstacles in our way by never losing focus of our destiny.?
Since taking the gold, Mills has used his fame to help children who face the same poverty and rejection that he battled throughout his own life. He has used his own words to teach younger generations about character, dignity and pride with his main focus being on teaching ?Global Unity Through Global Diversity.?
Mills has ran some 64,000 miles in his lifetime, which he said averaged out to be 400 miles per pair of shoes.