50 years later, Billy Mills recalls journey

Posted by Sunnie R. Clahchischiligi | Jul 16, 2015 | Track & Field |

FRUITLAND, N.M.

When Billy Mills wakes up every morning he doesn’t picture that momentous day 50 years ago, when he won the Olympic gold medal in Tokyo.

Instead he feels it.

“I don’t think of the moment, but I feel it inside,” he said. “I was blessed to win a gold medal; I was blessed to break a world record. That moment is very powerful – it’s never left me.”

This year marks the 50th anniversary of the 1964 Olympics, where Mills finished the 10,000-meter race in a time of 28:24.40 and set a new Olympic record in that event.
Mills has since spent his life giving back and inspiring others while traveling the world and sharing his life story.

In an exclusive interview with the Times, Mills reminisced of his days before the Olympics and sharing his many accomplishments thereafter.

Mills said whether it’s the 50th anniversary or just another day, it’s hard not to think of the events of the race held in October of 1964 or the days leading up to it.
The now 77-year-old Oglala Lakota (Sioux) role model said his journey toward the gold began when he was a child.

He said his mother had passed when he was about seven years old. Seeing how angry and saddened he was about losing her, his father spoke to him, giving him words of wisdom he carried with him well into the Olympic games.

“The way I understood it was he said ‘son, you have broken wings,’” Mills said. “And I remember crying and he told me that it takes a dream to heal broken wings…”