Billy Mills

Billy Mills

William Mervin "Billy" Mills, also known as Makata Taka Hela (born June 30, 1938), is the second Native American to win an Olympic gold medal. He accomplished this feat in the 10,000 meter run at the 1964 Tokyo Olympics, becoming the only American ever to win the Olympic gold in this event. His 1964 victory is considered one of the greatest of Olympic upsets. A former United States Marine, Billy Mills is a member of the Oglala Lakota (Sioux) Tribe.

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Famous quotes containing the words billy and/or mills:

    “Oh, where have you been, Billy boy, Billy boy?
    Oh, where have you been, charming Billy?”
    “I’ve been to seek a wife,
    She’s the joy of my life,
    She’s a young thing, and cannot leave her mother.”
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    They give us a pair of cloth shorts twice a year for all our clothing. When we work in the sugar mills and catch our finger in the millstone, they cut off our hand; when we try to run away, they cut off our leg: both things have happened to me. It is at this price that you eat sugar in Europe.
    Voltaire [François Marie Arouet] (1694–1778)