Harry Hillman
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| Olympic medalist | |||
 Harry Hillman |
|||
| Medal record | |||
| Men's Athletics | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gold | 1904 St. Louis | 400 metres | |
| Gold | 1904 St. Louis | 200 metre hurdles | |
| Gold | 1904 St. Louis | 400 metres hurdles | |
| Silver | 1908 London | 400 metres hurdles | |
Harry Livingston Hillman Jr. (September 8, 1881 – August 9, 1945) was an American athlete and winner of three gold medals at the 1904 Summer Olympics.
Born in Brooklyn, New York, Hillman was a member of three Olympic teams at the turn of the century. He also was a coach at Dartmouth College.
Hillman won three gold medals at the 1904 Olympics in St. Louis, Missouri, taking the flat 400 metres, the 200 metres hurdles and the 400 metres hurdles. He had Olympic record times in all three events, but Hillman tripped one hurdle in the 400 metres, which meant that his time of 53.0 seconds could not be counted as a world record (the record had stood at 57.2 seconds since 1891). In addition, the race was run over hurdles that were too low at 76 centimetres instead of the normal 91,4.
En route to Greece for the 1906 Summer Olympics, Hillman was one of a half-dozen athletes who were injured by an enormous wave that washed over the deck of the ship. He finished fifth in the 400 metres, his only event that year.
Hillman won a silver medal in the 400 metres hurdles at the 1908 Summer Olympics, setting a short-lived record in the second round. He and Charles Bacon of the USA went over the last hurdle simultaneously, but Bacon won the run to the tape to win in a world record 55.0 seconds. Hillman's time in the race was 55.3 seconds.
On April 24, 1909, Hillman and Lawson Robertson set a record that has never been equalled, running the 100 yards three-legged race in 11.0 seconds. He won four Amateur Athletic Union titles, two each in the 200 metres and 400 metres hurdles.
The track coach at Dartmouth College from 1910 until his death, Hillman advised hurdlers to swallow raw eggs, which he believed to be "excellent for the wind and stomach." He was on the Olympic track and field coaching staff in 1924, 1928, and 1932 Summer Olympics. One of his most famous athletes was Canadian hurdler Earl Thomson, the winner of the gold medal in the 110 metres hurdles at the 1920 Summer Olympics.
| Olympic champions in men's 200 m hurdles |
|---|
| Alvin Kraenzlein | Harry Hillman |
| Olympic champions in men's 400 m |
|---|
| 1896: Tom Burke | 1900: Maxey Long | 1904: Harry Hillman | 1906: Paul Pilgrim | Wyndham Halswelle | 1912: Charles Reidpath | 1920: Bevil Rudd | 1924: Eric Liddell | 1928: Ray Barbuti | 1932: Bill Carr | 1936: Archie Williams | 1948: Arthur Wint | 1952: George Rhoden | 1956: Charlie Jenkins | 1960: Otis Davis | 1964: Michael Larrabee | 1968: Lee Evans | 1972: Vincent Matthews | 1976: Alberto Juantorena | 1980: Viktor Markin | 1984: Alonzo Babers | 1988: Steve Lewis | 1992: Quincy Watts | 1996: Michael Johnson | 2000: Michael Johnson | 2004: Jeremy Wariner |
| Olympic champions in men's 400 m hurdles |
|---|
| 1900: John Tewksbury | 1904: Harry Hillman | 1908: Charles Bacon | 1920: Frank Loomis | 1924: Morgan Taylor | 1928: David Burghley | 1932: Bob Tisdall | 1936: Glenn Hardin | 1948: Roy Cochran | 1952: Charles Moore | 1956: Glenn Davis | 1960: Glenn Davis | 1964: Rex Cawley | 1968: David Hemery | 1972: John Akii-Bua | 1976 Edwin Moses | 1980 Volker Beck | 1984: Edwin Moses | 1988: André Phillips | 1992: Kevin Young | 1996: Derrick Adkins | 2000: Angelo Taylor | 2004: Felix Sanchez |
Categories: 1881 births | 1945 deaths | American track and field athletes | Athletes at the 1904 Summer Olympics | Athletes at the 1906 Summer Olympics | Athletes at the 1908 Summer Olympics | Dartmouth College athletics | Olympic gold medalists for the United States | Olympic silver medalists for the United States | Olympic competitors for the United States
