PROFESSION: Professional Sports Player
Olympic Champion in 110m hurdles. First African American Olympic bobsledder. Joined the US Army.
It appears that Willie never got the message that sprinter's careers were supposed to be short, particularly in the days before professional track and field. His career spanned four Olympic Games. He made three Olympic finals, and came away with two medals, a gold at the 1968 Mexico City Olympics, and a bronze at the 1976 Montreal Games.
A review of his career shows that Willie was a big meet runner. The two fastest times of Willie's career came in the Olympic finals in which he won medals.
Willie just missed winning a third Olympic medal at the 1972 Munich Games, when he finished only .02 seconds behind teammate Thomas Hill, who captured the bronze medal.
It was during his preparations for the 1968 Olympics that Willie won his first Relays title. He also won the following two years to become the first three-time winner of the event.
Willie didn't limit his participation to the Summer Olympic Games; he was a member of the U.S. four-man bobsled team which competed at the 1980 Lake Placid Winter Olympics.
Born: 1943
College: Southern University
Posted By: Reginald Culpepper
Friday, September 30th 2005 at 11:45PM
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