1978 -10k Olympic Champion - Sioux
DATE OF BIRTH: June 30, 1938
- BIRTH PLACE: Pine Ridge, South Dakota
- TRIBE: Oglala Lakota "Sioux"
- EDUCATION: Haskell Indian School, Lawrence, Kansas
University of Kansas, Lawrence, Kansas - SPORTS DATA: Track and Cross Country
ACHIEVEMENTS:Kansas University 1957-1962
- 1st Team NCAA Cross Country All-American 1958
- 2nd Team NCAA Cross Country All-American 1959
- National AAU Cross Country All-American 1959
- 1st Team NCAA Cross Country All-American 1960
- Member of Kansas University’s NCAA Championship Track and Field
- Team 1960
- Gold medal Olympic 10,000 meter run, Tokyo, Japan, 1964
- Olympic Marathon, Tokyo, Japan 1964
- National AAU All-American Track and Field and Cross Country, 1964
- World record 6 mile run, US National Track and Field Championships,
San Diego, California, 1965 - American record 3 mile US National Indoor Championships, New York, NY, 1965
- American record 3,000 meter indoors, London, England, 1965
- American record 10,000 meter, Augsburg, Germany, 1965
- National AAU All-American Track and Field, 1965
- Inducted into the National Track and Field Hall of Fame, the USA
Olympic Hall of Fame, and the World Sports Humanitarian hall of Fame.
- OBilly contributes his success as an athlete and individual to the values of character, dignity and pride instilled in him by his coaches at Haskell and later throughout his career. Especially Tony Coffin from Haskell, Bill Easton from Kansas University, and Tommy Thompson, Sr. from the US Naval Academy and USMC
- Avery Brundage, former President of the International Olympic Committee. “I have been watching the Olympic Games for over 50 years and have never seen an American respond greater to pressure than Billy did in winning the Olympic 10,000 m.”