Post by Okwes on Jul 10, 2006 16:06:15 GMT -5
1964 Olympic hero still seeking to make strides
ARNIE STAPLETON
AP Sports Writer
ap.dodgeglobe.com/stories/state/ks/20060704/4067910.shtml
<http://ap.dodgeglobe.com/stories/state/ks/20060704/4067910.shtml>
DENVER � Despite vexing knees that no longer allow him
to run, Billy Mills is out to make strides even at 68.
The unlikely hero of the 1964 Tokyo Games, where he
won the 10,000 meters in what many consider the
greatest upset in Olympic track history, Mills was in
Denver this week at the North American Indigenous
Games to lend a helping hand whenever and wherever he
could to encourage empowerment through sports.
"Using sports to teach life values is sacred," said
Mills, a part Lakota Sioux Indian who was orphaned at
12 and overcame poverty and racism to become an
All-American at Kansas and an Olympic champion.
"Properly taught, properly structured, sports can
better prepare young people for the challenges they'll
face later in life than anything they can do at a
young age," Mills said. "Improperly taught, improperly
structured, sports is as meaningless as anything
else."
The North American Indigenous Games are bringing
together some 7,000 athletes from 23 states and 11
Canadian provinces for 16 sports. The competitions run
through Friday.
This celebration of sport and culture allows nearly
1,000 tribes to "talk about to what extent we maintain
our culture, our tradition, our spirituality, which
have been lost in many other cultures," Mills said.
Mills, who was raised on the Pine Ridge Indian
Reservation in South Dakota, is especially revered by
indigenous athletes for his triumph at the 1964
Olympics, when he wove through a field of lapped
runners and collared two of the world's most
accomplished distance runners in the final few
strides, hitting the tape 46 seconds faster than he
had ever run before.
To this day, Mills uses that triumph to teach life's
lessons:
"After my mom died when I was 8, my dad said, 'You
have broken wings.' And I started crying," Mills
recounted. "But he said, 'I'll share something with
you and if you follow it, someday you'll have wings of
an eagle.'"
A stick was taken and a circle drawn.
Step inside, son, his father said.
"Look inside of your heart, your body, your mind, your
spirit, your soul. What do you find?"
The young boy said nothing.
"I'll tell you what you find," his father said.
"Anger. You just lost your mom. Hate, because people
have expressed hatred toward us. Jealousy, because we
don't have anything of material value.
"But because of the jealousy, you're blind. You don't
see the virtue in the values of our culture. And you
have a whole lot of self-pity. Those emotions will
destroy you. Look deeper, way down deep where the
dreams lie."
Eighteen years later, Mills was a virtual unknown with
a big dream.
A Type II diabetic, he was going low on blood sugar as
he entered the last lap on the rain-soaked track. He
came off the curve in third place, behind favorites
Ron Clarke of Australia and Mohammed Gammoudi of
Tunisia. A lapped runner from West Germany moved over
to let him pass.
"And I glance at the German, and in the center of the
German's shirt is an eagle," Mills recalled. "I think
of my dad: 'Someday you'll have wings of an eagle.'"
With a shocking final kick, Mills hit the tape first
as millions watched in awe. A race official asked him,
"Who are you?"
Today, Mills no longer runs. His knees aren't up to
it, even though he's pain-free four years after being
diagnosed with a rare malady. While competing in the
Southwest in the late 1960s, he contracted a
little-known and noncontagious disease found in that
region � coccidioidomycosis, or valley fever. It is
caused by fungal spores kicked up from the ground.
Although usually not serious, the disease, which has
flulike symptoms, can lead to meningitis and joint
pain.
He had surgery three years ago to remove a cyst from
his back and the lab confirmed the diagnosis. He spent
two years on medication that killed remnants of the
disease and restored his body to some degree of
pain-free flexibility.
Although he no longer runs, he maintains fantastic
physical shape, looks much younger than his age and
credits it all to a good diet and long daily walks.
On some of those walks, he recalls the lessons his
father taught him that were based on Greek philosophy
and native spirituality.
"All I have of my dad are his stories," Mills said.
"And he had a collection of articles. One quotes the
Greeks. It said Olympians are chosen by the gods. And
I read that and I wanted to be chosen by the gods �
not because of sport but because my mom had just died,
and I thought if I was chosen by the gods, I'd be able
to see my mom again."
From Socrates, Mills learned that with achievement
comes honor and with honor, responsibility.
"The underlying theme of the Indigenous Games is to
teach our young people responsibility and
accountability," Mills said.
So they can be proud of their accomplishments, their
heritage.
"We're not mascots," Mills said. "We're the real
deal."
ARNIE STAPLETON
AP Sports Writer
ap.dodgeglobe.com/stories/state/ks/20060704/4067910.shtml
<http://ap.dodgeglobe.com/stories/state/ks/20060704/4067910.shtml>
DENVER � Despite vexing knees that no longer allow him
to run, Billy Mills is out to make strides even at 68.
The unlikely hero of the 1964 Tokyo Games, where he
won the 10,000 meters in what many consider the
greatest upset in Olympic track history, Mills was in
Denver this week at the North American Indigenous
Games to lend a helping hand whenever and wherever he
could to encourage empowerment through sports.
"Using sports to teach life values is sacred," said
Mills, a part Lakota Sioux Indian who was orphaned at
12 and overcame poverty and racism to become an
All-American at Kansas and an Olympic champion.
"Properly taught, properly structured, sports can
better prepare young people for the challenges they'll
face later in life than anything they can do at a
young age," Mills said. "Improperly taught, improperly
structured, sports is as meaningless as anything
else."
The North American Indigenous Games are bringing
together some 7,000 athletes from 23 states and 11
Canadian provinces for 16 sports. The competitions run
through Friday.
This celebration of sport and culture allows nearly
1,000 tribes to "talk about to what extent we maintain
our culture, our tradition, our spirituality, which
have been lost in many other cultures," Mills said.
Mills, who was raised on the Pine Ridge Indian
Reservation in South Dakota, is especially revered by
indigenous athletes for his triumph at the 1964
Olympics, when he wove through a field of lapped
runners and collared two of the world's most
accomplished distance runners in the final few
strides, hitting the tape 46 seconds faster than he
had ever run before.
To this day, Mills uses that triumph to teach life's
lessons:
"After my mom died when I was 8, my dad said, 'You
have broken wings.' And I started crying," Mills
recounted. "But he said, 'I'll share something with
you and if you follow it, someday you'll have wings of
an eagle.'"
A stick was taken and a circle drawn.
Step inside, son, his father said.
"Look inside of your heart, your body, your mind, your
spirit, your soul. What do you find?"
The young boy said nothing.
"I'll tell you what you find," his father said.
"Anger. You just lost your mom. Hate, because people
have expressed hatred toward us. Jealousy, because we
don't have anything of material value.
"But because of the jealousy, you're blind. You don't
see the virtue in the values of our culture. And you
have a whole lot of self-pity. Those emotions will
destroy you. Look deeper, way down deep where the
dreams lie."
Eighteen years later, Mills was a virtual unknown with
a big dream.
A Type II diabetic, he was going low on blood sugar as
he entered the last lap on the rain-soaked track. He
came off the curve in third place, behind favorites
Ron Clarke of Australia and Mohammed Gammoudi of
Tunisia. A lapped runner from West Germany moved over
to let him pass.
"And I glance at the German, and in the center of the
German's shirt is an eagle," Mills recalled. "I think
of my dad: 'Someday you'll have wings of an eagle.'"
With a shocking final kick, Mills hit the tape first
as millions watched in awe. A race official asked him,
"Who are you?"
Today, Mills no longer runs. His knees aren't up to
it, even though he's pain-free four years after being
diagnosed with a rare malady. While competing in the
Southwest in the late 1960s, he contracted a
little-known and noncontagious disease found in that
region � coccidioidomycosis, or valley fever. It is
caused by fungal spores kicked up from the ground.
Although usually not serious, the disease, which has
flulike symptoms, can lead to meningitis and joint
pain.
He had surgery three years ago to remove a cyst from
his back and the lab confirmed the diagnosis. He spent
two years on medication that killed remnants of the
disease and restored his body to some degree of
pain-free flexibility.
Although he no longer runs, he maintains fantastic
physical shape, looks much younger than his age and
credits it all to a good diet and long daily walks.
On some of those walks, he recalls the lessons his
father taught him that were based on Greek philosophy
and native spirituality.
"All I have of my dad are his stories," Mills said.
"And he had a collection of articles. One quotes the
Greeks. It said Olympians are chosen by the gods. And
I read that and I wanted to be chosen by the gods �
not because of sport but because my mom had just died,
and I thought if I was chosen by the gods, I'd be able
to see my mom again."
From Socrates, Mills learned that with achievement
comes honor and with honor, responsibility.
"The underlying theme of the Indigenous Games is to
teach our young people responsibility and
accountability," Mills said.
So they can be proud of their accomplishments, their
heritage.
"We're not mascots," Mills said. "We're the real
deal."