Willie Davenport
1968 Olympic Champion 110 Hurdles
Davenport won the 1964 U.S. Olympic trials, but at the Olympics a leg injury forced him out in the semifinals. Davenport then won the gold medal in 1968 in Mexico City, was 4th in 1972 and captured a bronze in 1976. Davenport made his fifth Olympic team in 1980 and became the first African-American to compete in the Winter Olympics when he placed 12th as part of the four-man bobsled team. Davenport captured four national AAU outdoor titles and six AAU indoor titles from 1965 to 1969. In 1968, he equaled the world record in the 120-yard hurdles at 13.2 seconds, and after the 1968 Olympic Games Davenport enrolled at Louisiana Southern University where he played football. But hurdling was still his first love, and in 1969 he set world marks at five different distances -- 45, 50, 60, 70 and 120 yards and he equaled the world outdoor mark for the 110 hurdles, at 13.2 seconds. For his outstanding efforts, Davenport was inducted into the National Track and Field Hall of Fame in 1981 and the U.S. Olympic Hall of Fame in 1991. Davenport died of a heart attack in June of 2002 at the age of 59.
| EVENT |
PLACE |
POINTS |
MONEY |
EVENT WINS |
| 1988 Veterans |
1 |
48 1/2 |
$14,850 |
Weight Lifting, Bike Race, 100 Yard Dash, Obstacle Course |
| TOTALS |
48 1/2 |
$14,850 |
4 |