Olympic Gold Medalist Billy Mills to Speak at Guilford College

GREENSBORO, N.C. (10/8/09) -- 1964 Olympic Gold Medalist Billy Mills will visit Guilford College as part of the school’s Distance Runners Endurance Gala Nov. 13-14.

Mills’ appearance is a highlight of the weekend, which includes the running of the NCAA Division III Men’s and Women’s South/Southeast Regional Cross Country Championship on Guilford’s Meadows’ Course Nov. 14.

He will visit with fans from 3-4 p.m. in Founders Hall on campus Nov. 13 and deliver a motivational speech at a 6:00 p.m. banquet in Alumni Gym on campus.  Both events are open to the public.

Mills is the only American to win the Olympic 10,000 meters, having surprised many by capturing the race at the 1964 Tokyo Games.  He is the second Native American to win an Olympic medal.

A member of the Sioux tribe, Mills was raised at the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation in South Dakota.  He started running at a boarding school and earned a cross country scholarship to the University of Kansas where he was a three-time cross country All-American. After graduating with a degree in education, Mills joined the U.S. Marines Corps where he increased his running regimen and qualified for the U.S. track team.

An advocate for and role model to young Native Americans, Mills is the national spokesman for Running Strong for American Indian Youth, a non-profit organization. He has authored two motivational books, which draw on his Native American beliefs with modern positive thinking principles. The major motion picture, “Running Brave,” released in 1983, is based on Mills’ life story.

Mills’ speech follows a buffet-style pasta dinner at Alumni Gym on Guilford's campus. Advanced tickets to the dinner and Mills’ speech cost $15 in advance, $20 at the door. Contact Guilford director of track and field operations Bill Cason at casonw@guilford.edu or 336-734-3009 for tickets and more information.

The weekend also includes cross country races for high school and middle school students as well as an endurance running trade show in the Alumni Gym.