Mills' 10,000 At Tokyo In 1964 Upset For All Time

by Marc Bloom

The Race

The story is still hard to believe 40 years later: how the Native American Billy Mills grew up in a family of 15 on a reservation in South Dakota, was orphaned at 12, showed a talent for running, was verbally abused by his college track coach, joined the Marines, made the 1964 Olympic team in the 10,000 meters and marathon and was still considered a nobody in Tokyo until the last lap of the 10,000.

On that fateful day in October, athletes from Down Under were expected to dominate. The favorite was Ron Clarke of Australia, the world record holder, with New Zealanders Murray Halberg, the defending Olympic 5,000 titlist, and Bill Baillie, the world record holder in the one-hour run, the other leading medal contenders. Among Americans, only the 18-year-old phenom Gerry Lindgren, fresh out of high school, was rated as much as a longshot. And Lindgren had twisted an ankle days before the race.

With 75,000 spectators in Olympic Stadium, and the cinder track wet from morning rains, Clarke led the large field of 38 men through the first mile in 4:23 and second mile in 8:58. Lindgren, who'd won the 10,000 in the U.S.-Soviet dual meet that summer, ran gallantly near the front and led briefly in the early going until falling back to finish 9th.

Clarke's style was easy and smooth and he drew ahead of the pack along with Mohamed Gammoudi of Tunisia, known for his kick, Nikolay Dutov of the Soviet Union, Mamo Wolde, an Ethiopian teammate of marathon champion Abebe Bikila, and Mills. Who? That's what people said in the stands. Who was the American with the crewcut, and what was he doing up front? The group of five passed the 5,000 in 14:04.6 with Mills nominally ahead. How could that be? Mills had barely broken 14 minutes in a 5,000-meter race. Clarke's world record was 28:15.6. He was well within his comfort level.

But few people knew that Mills had bolstered his strength with months of world-class workouts including long runs up to 25 miles, 800 repeats under 2 minutes and 400 repeats in 55. And almost no one knew that Mills had also worked on sprints until he practically passed out, achieving the ability to run 23.6 for 220 yards in practice in Tokyo. Gammoudi deserved some credit for Mills' newfound speed. At a meet in Belgium the previous year, he'd defeated Mills in a 10,000 and afterwards told him in broken English that he needed more speed. Mills took that advice and ran with it.

And certainly no one in Tokyo other than Mills' wife Pat could know that Mills' spiritual reservoir had grown deep-that the lessons taught by his Native culture and conveyed by Mills' father would eventually quell Billy's anger and help him find comfort in his identity. "Broken wings" became "wings of an eagle," Mills says today.

Mills was so content, so confident, that even being told by a shoe company rep in Tokyo that he was not good enough to get free footwear, did not rile him. Even being told by U.S. running officials that he would disgrace America if he did not give up his spot in the marathon to an athlete he'd defeated at the trial did not rile him.

You can't rile a guy who knows he's going to win the gold medal. The Soviet Dutov was soon dropped, and Mills, Clarke, Gammoudi and Wolde stuck together for one kilometer after another, alternating in the lead. With three laps to go, Clarke pushed the pace and Wolde fell away. Three men were left and American fans were stunned: Mills was virtually guaranteed the bronze!

As the bell lap began, Mills moved to Clarke's shoulder and inched slightly ahead. On the first turn, passing a lapped runner, Clarke and Mills exchanged elbows to avoid congestion and Mills was shoved into the third lane. His legs started to buckle but he recovered. Just then, on the backstretch, the small, head-bobbing Gammoudi tore between Mills and Clarke and well into the lead, throwing both men off-balance and unleashing a furious three-man race for the medals the likes of which had never been seen in an Olympic final.

Gammoudi sprinted for all he was worth. Clarke looked beaten in 2nd. Mills looked way out of it in 3rd. The track was cluttered with lapped runners. The crowd was on its feet, roaring. All Mills heard "was the throbbing of my heart." All Mills saw were flashes of training when he'd imagined defeating Clarke. Around the far turn and onto the home straight, Clarke closed on Gammoudi. Mills gained on both men but the gap, 10 yards with 80 to go, still seemed insurmountable. Then, as though indeed lifted by wings, Mills flew the final yards past Gammoudi and Clarke for the victory.

Mills' time was 28:24.4. Gammoudi was 2nd in 28:24.8 and Clarke 3rd in 28:25.8. All three broke the Olympic record. In the aftermath of the greatest Olympic upset ever, Mills was asked by officials, "Who are you?" Mills finally knew the answer to that one.

One week later, Mills ran the marathon, placing 14th. Then, in 1965, Mills ran another historic race, setting a world 6-mile record (27:11.6) in a tie with Lindgren at the AAU Nationals in San Diego. It was the first time American men held a world record in any track event above 2 miles. Mills retired soon after to work for Native American and other humanitarian causes.

Eyewitness: Pat Mills, Billy's Wife

We did not have the money for me to go to Tokyo so Billy had to go to a bank and take out a loan for $700. While Billy was housed at the Olympic Village, I had to stay in a downtown hotel. Billy had a quiet confidence about him, and the day before the 10,000 final, he told me, "I think I'm going to show people a few things." I believed him.

In the stadium, on the final lap, everyone was on their feet. I was so excited I kept hitting the guy in front of me with a rolled up program. I didn't even realize I was doing it. Our seats were at the start of the home straight and it was hard to see who crossed the finish first. But I saw Billy's arms go up in victory.

Within a couple of minutes, officials found me and brought me to under the stadium to see Billy, who was being interviewed. Reporters picked up on the fact that Billy was Native American and asked me, "Are you Indian?" There I am with green eyes and blond hair. I said, "No, I'm just a little white girl." After that we went back to my hotel, and my roommate agreed to stay in the lobby for the night so Billy and I could celebrate in private.

Pat and Billy Mills have been married 43 years.

Eyewitness: Don Jeisy, '64 Olympic Decathlete

I was a decathlete and officer in the Marines who was asked to coach track and field athletes at the Quantico base in Virginia, and then at Camp Pendleton in California. At Quantico in 1963, I was training the distancemen at under 60 seconds per 440 lap in interval workouts. Billy came to me one day and said he couldn't run that fast. We started with 330s and Billy improved. One day he went out and ran a quarter in 57. He got better and better, especially after he went to Pendleton, and in Tokyo no one really knew how fast he was. I was an alternate on the Olympic team and before the Games started Billy and I got the scare of our lives. When we went to meet our wives at the airport, word came that there were problems with the plane's landing gear. Emergency fire trucks came to the tarmac. The pilot couldn't get the wheels down. Finally, at the last minute, he did.

Eyewitness: Larry Rawson, Mills' Training Partner

In the fall of '63, about a year before the Tokyo Olympics, when Billy and I were at Quantico, we ran a 15-k road race. A college miler won it, with Billy 2nd and myself 3rd. That's was the Olympic champion one year before Tokyo: he couldn't stay with a college kid. We were doing about 50 miles a week. I trained sporadically with Billy before Tokyo but more frequently after the Games when his ability to get into shape in a short time continued to amaze me. Early in '65, when Billy was feeling the effects of the post-Olympic banquet circuit he placed 3rd in the Millrose Games indoor 2-mile. He hadn't been training. But then, after three weeks' training, he won the AAU national indoor 3-mile with an American record.

Larry Rawson is a television track and field commentator.

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