Harrison Dillard

Dillard was born in Cleveland, Ohio, on July 8, 1923,^[3][1] 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.^[4]

According to a 1962 article written by Trinidadian Olympic sprinter Mike Agostini for Australia's The Age newspaper, Dillard was first inspired as a youngster by Charley Paddock, who Agostini says visited Dillard at his high school and encouraged him to follow his dream of becoming an Olympic champion like himself.^[5]

Dillard returned to college in 1946, and resumed athletics, inspired by Jesse Owens, who, like him, was from Cleveland and had attended East Technical High School. He won the NCAA and AAU 120-yard and 220-yard hurdles in both 1946 and 1947, tying 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.

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.^[6] As a member of the 4 × 100 m relay team, he won another gold medal at the London Games.^[1]

Four years later, still a strong hurdler, Dillard did qualify for the 110 m hurdles event, and won the event in Helsinki.^[3] Another 4 × 100 m relay victory yielded Dillard's fourth Olympic title. Dillard attempted to qualify for a third Olympics in 1956, but failed (finishing seventh in the trials final^[7]). Earlier he took part in and won the gold medal in the 110 m hurdles at the 1953 Maccabiah Games.^[8][9]

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.^[1] Dillard died on November 15, 2019, at the age of 96, of stomach cancer.^[10] At the time of his death he was the United States' oldest living Olympic gold medallist.^[11]

• Four-time Olympic Gold Medalist
• U.S. Olympic Hall of Fame inductee
• James E. Sullivan Award winner, in 1955
• Statue at Baldwin Wallace University
• Track at Baldwin Wallace named the Harrison Dillard Track
• United States National Track and Field Hall of Fame inductee in 1974 (the inaugural year)^[12]
• IAAF Hall of Fame inductee, in 2013.
• Harrison Dillard Trail, traveling through Cleveland's Rockefeller Park from Lake Erie to University Circle, dedicated in 1997.

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.^{[13] [14][note 1]}

Dillard in his career posted the following world record and world best times.^{[note 2][note 3][15]}

Dillard achieved the following world records during his track career:^[16]

• 120 y (110 m) hurdles of 13.6 s in Lawrence at the Kansas Relays on 17 April 1948;
• 220 y hurdles (straight course) of 22.5 s in Delaware on 8 June 1946;
• 220 y hurdles (straight course) of 22.3 s in Salt Lake City on 21 June 1947.

He also ran the following world best times that were never ratified by the sport's governing body, the IAAF:

• 220 y hurdles (turn) of 23.0 s in Minneapolis on 22 June 1946;
• 220 y hurdles (straight course) of 22.5 s in Berea, Ohio on 20 May 1947.