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Harrison Dillard

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Athlete

The Resume

    (July 8, 1923-November 15, 2019)
    Born in Cleveland, Ohio
    Birth name was William Harrison Dillard
    Won Olympic gold medals in the 100-meter sprint (1948), 110-meter hurdles (1952) and 4x100-meter relay (1948,1952)
    Inducted into the Track and Field Hall of Fame (1974) and US Olympic Committee Hall of Fame (1983)
    Was the oldest US Olympic gold medalist at the time of his death

Why he might be annoying:

    He kept his childhood nickname ‘Bones’ throughout his career, even though he was not particularly skinny by the time he entered college.
    During a testimonial dinner in Cleveland, he declared, ‘I’m going to win the hurdles in London’ – then failed to qualify for that event during the US Olympic trials (1948).
    He was dismissive of his upset victory in the 100-meters, saying ‘Sprinters are a dime a dozen, but hurdling is a high art of track.’

Why he might not be annoying:

    His athletic heroes growing up were Jesse Owens and Joe Louis.
    He served in the 92nd Infantry Division (the ‘Buffalo Soldiers’) during World War II.
    He won 82 consecutive hurdle races (1947-48).
    His 100-meter sprint victory was the first Olympic event in which the winner was determined by using a photo finish.
    He was the only Olympic athlete to win gold medals in both sprints and high hurdles.

Credit: C. Fishel


Featured in the following Annoying Collections:

Year In Review:

    In 2023, Out of 5 Votes: 0% Annoying
    In 2022, Out of 3 Votes: 33.33% Annoying
    In 2021, Out of 7 Votes: 100% Annoying
    In 2020, Out of 2 Votes: 100% Annoying
    In 2019, Out of 66 Votes: 50.0% Annoying