Harrison Dillard


William Harrison "Bones" Dillard 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 and the 110 meter hurdles, making him the “World’s Fastest Man” in 1948 and the “World’s Fastest Hurdler” in 1952.

Early life and career

Dillard was born in Cleveland, Ohio on July 8, 1923 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. 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

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. As a member of the 4 × 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 × 100 m relay victory yielded Dillard's fourth Olympic title. Dillard attempted to qualify for a third Olympics in 1956, but failed. Earlier he took part in and won the gold medal in the 110m hurdles at the 1953 Maccabiah Games.

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. Dillard died on November 15, 2019, at the age of 96 of stomach cancer. At the time of his death he was the United States' oldest living Olympic gold medallist.

Competition record

Awards and honors

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.
YearWorld rank 100 mWorld rank 110 m hurdles
19479th1st
19481st2nd
19497th2nd
1950--
1951--
1952-1st
1953-6th

World Records

Dillard in his career posted the following world record and world best times.
Dillard achieved the following world records during his track career:
He also ran the following world best times that were never ratified by the sport's governing body, the IAAF: