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Billy Mills

Chronology

1938	Born June 30, on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation, South Dakota
1958-62	Attends University of Kansas in Lawrence; becomes a top runner
1958-59	All-American in cross-country; Kansas team wins NCAA outdoor national championships
1960	Winner, individual title in Big Eight Conference cross-country tournament
1960	Attempts to qualify for Olympics, but does not make the team
1961	Conference champion, 2-mile race
1962	Marries his college sweetheart, Pat
1962	Joins Marine Corps
1964	Makes Olympic team, but his achievements are largely ignored
1964	Wins Olympic gold medal in Olympics, in a startling upset; sets new Olympic record
1965	Sets world record in 6-mile run with a time of 27:11.6; sets American records in the 10,000 meters and the 3-mile run
1968	Attends Olympic trials and beats the "winner" by 13 seconds, but is disqualified because of application form errors
1983	Running Brave, a film version of Mills's life, is released
1984	Inducted into U.S. Olympic Hall of Fame
1980s-present	Works as motivational speaker, author, and philanthropist
1997	Inducted into Sports Humanitarian Hall of Fame
1999	Inducted into Distance Running Hall of Fame