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{{Short description|American athlete (1923–2019)}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=July 2017}}
{{Infobox sportsperson
| name = Harrison Dillard
| image = Harrison Dillard 1952.jpg
| image_size = 230px
| caption = Dillard at 1952 Summer Olympics
| fullname = William Harrison Dillard<ref name=sports-reference>{{cite Sports-Reference |title=Harrison Dillard |url=https://www.sports-reference.com/olympics/athletes/di/harrison-dillard-1.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200417094702/https://www.sports-reference.com/olympics/athletes/di/harrison-dillard-1.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=April 17, 2020 |access-date=June 6, 2015}}</ref>
| birth_date = {{birth date|1923|7|8}}
| birth_place = [[Cleveland, Ohio]], U.S.
| death_date = {{death date and age|2019|11|15|1923|7|8}}
| death_place = Cleveland, Ohio, U.S.
| height = 5 ft 10 in<ref name=sports-reference/>
| weight = 152 lb<ref name=sports-reference/>
| sport = Athletics
| club = Baldwin-Wallace College
| event = 100 m, 200 m<br>110 m, 400 m hurdles
| pb = 100 m – 10.50 (1948)<br>200 m – 20.8 (1948)<br>110 mH – 13.6 (1948)<ref name=sports-reference/><br>400 mH – 53.7 (1942)<ref name=tf>[http://trackfield.brinkster.net/Profile.asp?ID=1574&Gender=M Harrison Dillard]. trackfield.brinkster.net</ref>
| show-medals = yes
| medaltemplates = 
{{MedalSport | Men's [[athletics (sport)|athletics]] }}
{{MedalCountry | the {{USA}} }}
{{MedalCompetition|[[Olympic Games]]}}
{{MedalGold|[[1948 Summer Olympics|1948 London]]|[[Athletics at the 1948 Summer Olympics – Men's 100 metres|100 m]]}}
{{MedalGold|1948 London|[[Athletics at the 1948 Summer Olympics – Men's 4 × 100 metres relay|4 × 100 m relay]]}}
{{MedalGold|[[1952 Summer Olympics|1952 Helsinki]]|[[Athletics at the 1952 Summer Olympics – Men's 110 metres hurdles|110 m hurdles]]}}
{{MedalGold|1952 Helsinki|[[Athletics at the 1952 Summer Olympics – Men's 4 × 100 metres relay|4 × 100 m relay]]}}
}}
[[File:Harrison Dillard - 1948 Olympics gold medal winner.jpg|thumb|Foreign Office Minister [[Alistair Burt]] with Harrison Dillard holding the 1948 London Olympics torch, August 1, 2012.|300px]]

'''William Harrison''' "'''Bones'''" '''Dillard''' (July 8, 1923 – November 15, 2019) was an American track and field athlete, who is the only male in the history of the Olympic Games to win gold in both the 100 meter (sprints) and the 110 meter hurdles, making him the “World’s Fastest Man” in 1948 and the “World’s Fastest Hurdler” in 1952.

==Early life and career==
Dillard was born in [[Cleveland, Ohio]], on July 8, 1923,<ref name=IOC>{{cite web |title=Harrison Dillard |url=http://www.olympic.org/harrison-dillard |website=olympic.org |publisher=[[International Olympic Committee]] |access-date=June 6, 2015}}</ref><ref name=sports-reference/> and attended [[East Technical High School]]. He entered [[Baldwin-Wallace College]] in 1941 and joined [[Pi Lambda Phi]] International Fraternity, and two years later was drafted into the [[U.S. Army]], serving in the all-black [[92nd Infantry Division (United States)|92nd Infantry Division]] known as the [[Buffalo Soldier]]s.<ref>[http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/olympics-2012/olympians-harrison-dillard-herb-douglas-recall-life-times-1948-london-summer-games-article-1.1124047 Olympians Harrison Dillard and Herb Douglas recall life, times and the 1948 London Summer games]</ref>

According to a 1962 article written by Trinidadian Olympic sprinter [[Mike Agostini]] for Australia's ''[[The Age]]'' newspaper, Dillard was first inspired as a youngster by [[Charley Paddock]], who Agostini says visited Dillard at his high school and encouraged him to follow his dream of becoming an Olympic champion like himself.<ref>{{Cite web |title=The Age - Google News Archive Search |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=DjpVAAAAIBAJ&sjid=RpUDAAAAIBAJ&pg=4184,3549286 |access-date=2023-06-27 |website=news.google.com}}</ref>

Dillard returned to college in 1946, and resumed athletics, inspired by [[Jesse Owens]], who, like him, was from Cleveland and had attended East Technical High School. He won the NCAA and AAU 120-yard and 220-yard hurdles in both 1946 and 1947, tying world records in both events with a 22.3 in the 220 in 1946 and a 13.6 in the 120. Between June 1947 and June 1948, he remained unbeaten in 82 consecutive finals, a record until broken by [[Edwin Moses|Ed Moses]].

==Olympic Games==
[[Image:TV-icon-2.svg|thumb|110px|'''[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WhXmwCqvz8M Official Video Highlights, Dillard winning 1948 100 meters] [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jcACtGI0vFc Dillard winning 1952 110 meters hurdles]''']]
At the [[1948 United States Olympic Trials (track and field)|trials]] for the [[1948 Summer Olympics]], Dillard failed to qualify for the 110 m hurdles event, but qualified for the 100 m after finishing third.

At the Games, Dillard reached the final, which seemed to end in a [[Tie (draw)|dead heat]] between Dillard and another American, [[Barney Ewell]]. The finish photo showed Dillard had won, equalling the [[World record]] as well. This was the first use of a [[photo finish]] at an Olympic Games.<ref>Jackson, Peter (July 24, 2012) [https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-18782392 London's three Olympic Games compared]</ref> As a member of the 4 × 100 m [[Relay race|relay]] team, he won another gold medal at the London Games.<ref name=sports-reference/>

Four years later, still a strong hurdler, Dillard did qualify for the 110 m hurdles event, and won the event in [[Helsinki]].<ref name=IOC/> Another 4 × 100 m relay victory yielded Dillard's fourth Olympic title. Dillard attempted to qualify for a third Olympics in 1956, but failed (finishing seventh in the trials final<ref>{{cite web |author=Richard Hymans |title=US Olympic Trials History - 1956 |url=https://trackandfieldnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/1956.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200125164029/https://trackandfieldnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/1956.pdf |archive-date=2020-01-25 |website=[[Track and Field News]]}}</ref>). Earlier he took part in and won the gold medal in the 110 m hurdles at the [[1953 Maccabiah Games]].<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.drmirkin.com/histories-and-mysteries/mal-whitfield-olympian-and-tuskegee-airman.html |title=Mal Whitfield, Olympian and Tuskegee Airman &#124; Dr. Gabe Mirkin on Health|date=August 7, 2016 }}</ref><ref>[http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3113612,00.html YNET News: Maccabiah's Best Athletes]. ynetnews.com (July 16, 2005)</ref>

==Later years==
Dillard worked for the [[Cleveland Indians]] baseball franchise in scouting and public relations capacities, and hosted a radio talk show on Cleveland's WERE. He also worked for the Cleveland City School District for many years as its business manager.<ref name=sports-reference/> Dillard died on November 15, 2019, at the age of 96, of [[stomach cancer]].<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.cleveland.com/news/2019/11/track-legend-harrison-dillard-four-time-olympic-champion-dies-at-96.html |title=Track legend Harrison Dillard, four-time Olympic champion, dies at 96 |first=Bob |last=Dolgan |work=[[The Plain Dealer#cleveland.com|Cleveland.com]] |publisher=[[Advance Publications]] |location=[[Brooklyn, Ohio]] |date=November 15, 2019 |access-date=November 15, 2019}}</ref> At the time of his death he was the United States' oldest living Olympic gold medallist.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.bbc.com/sport/athletics/50447600 |title=Harrison Dillard: Former Olympic 100m and 110m hurdles champion dies aged 96 |work=[[BBC]] |date=16 November 2019 |access-date=20 November 2019}}</ref>

==Competition record==
{| {{AchievementTable|Event=yes}}
|-
!colspan="6"|Representing {{FlagIOC|USA|1948 Summer}}
|-
|1948
|[[1948 Summer Olympics|Olympics]]
|[[London, England]]
|1st
|100 m
|[[Athletics at the 1948 Summer Olympics – Men's 100 metres|10.3 (=OR)]]
|-
|1948
|[[1948 Summer Olympics|Olympics]]
|[[London, England]]
|1st
|{{nowrap|4 × 100 m}} relay
|[[Athletics at the 1948 Summer Olympics – Men's 4 × 100 metres relay|40.6]]
|-
|1952
|[[1952 Summer Olympics|Olympics]]
|[[Helsinki, Finland]]
|1st
|110 m hurdles
|[[Athletics at the 1952 Summer Olympics – Men's 110 metres hurdles|13.9 (OR)]]
|-
|1952
|[[1952 Summer Olympics|Olympics]]
|[[Helsinki, Finland]]
|1st
|{{nowrap|4 × 100 m}} relay
|[[Athletics at the 1952 Summer Olympics – Men's 4 × 100 metres relay|40.1]]
|}

==Awards and honors==
* Four-time Olympic Gold Medalist
* [[U.S. Olympic Hall of Fame]] inductee
* [[James E. Sullivan Award]] winner, in 1955
* Statue at [[Baldwin Wallace University]]
* Track at Baldwin Wallace named the Harrison Dillard Track
* [[National Track and Field Hall of Fame|United States National Track and Field Hall of Fame]] inductee in 1974 (the inaugural year)<ref name="nyt1">{{cite web |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2019/11/17/obituaries/harrison-dillard-dead.html/ |title=Harrison Dillard, World's Best Hurdler in the 1940s, Dies at 96 |first=Frank |last=Litsky |work=[[The New York Times]] |date=November 17, 2019}}</ref>
* [[IAAF Hall of Fame]] inductee, in 2013.

== World Rankings ==
Dillard was ranked among the best in the world in both the 100 m/100 y sprint and 110 m/120 y sprint hurdle events from 1947 to 1953, according to the votes of the experts of ''[[Track and Field News]]''.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://trackandfieldnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/01-m100Rank.pdf |title=World Rankings Index--Men's 100 meters |website=[[Track and Field News]] |access-date=2020-01-24}}</ref>
<ref>{{cite web |url=https://trackandfieldnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/09-m110HRank.pdf |title=World Rankings Index--Men's 110 Hurdles |website=[[Track and Field News]] |access-date=2020-01-24 |archive-date=August 3, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210803211532/https://trackandfieldnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/09-m110HRank.pdf |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref group=note>Rankings started in 1947.</ref>
{| class=wikitable
!Year
!World rank 100 m
!World rank 110 m hurdles
|-
|1947
|align="center" | 9th
|align="center" | 1st
|-
|1948
|align="center" | 1st
|align="center" | 2nd
|-
|1949
|align="center" | 7th
|align="center" | 2nd
|-
|1950
|align="center" | -
|align="center" | -
|-
|1951
|align="center" | -
|align="center" | -
|-
|1952
|align="center" | -
|align="center" | 1st
|-
|1953
|align="center" | -
|align="center" | 6th
|-
|}

== World Records ==
Dillard in his career posted the following world record and world best times.<ref group=note>120 yards is 109.73m, a difference of 27 cm with 110 m. This means for record purposes there is no conversion factor applied for hand-timing when converting between times recorded for the two distances.</ref><ref group=note>200 m/220 y hurdle events over a turn were accepted as world records to 1 January 1959; 200 m/220 y hurdle events were removed as world record events in 1969.</ref><ref>Progression of IAAF World Records 2011 Edition, Editor Imre Matrahazi, IAAF Athletics, p vii.</ref>

Dillard achieved the following world records during his track career:<ref>Progression of IAAF World Records 2011 Edition, Editor Imre Matrahazi, IAAF Athletics, p 468.</ref>

* 120 y (110 m) hurdles of 13.6 s in Lawrence at the [[Kansas Relays]] on 17 April 1948;
* 220 y hurdles (straight course) of 22.5 s in [[Delaware]] on 8 June 1946;
* 220 y hurdles (straight course) of 22.3 s in [[Salt Lake City]] on 21 June 1947.

He also ran the following world best times that were never ratified by the sport's governing body, the [[World Athletics|IAAF]]:
* 220 y hurdles (turn) of 23.0 s in [[Minneapolis]] on 22 June 1946;
* 220 y hurdles (straight course) of 22.5 s in [[Berea, Ohio]] on 20 May 1947.

==Notes==
<references group=note/>

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

==Further reading==
* {{cite web |url=https://andscape.com/features/the-forgotten-fastest-man/ |title=The Forgotten Fastest Man |first=Daniel |last=McGraw |website=[[Andscape]] |date=July 12, 2016 |access-date=February 27, 2017}}
* {{cite journal |url=https://www.bwyellowjackets.com/sports/mtrack/harrisondillard/ |title=Harrison Dillard '49 |website=Baldwin Wallace Yellow Jackets |date=November 18, 2019 |access-date=January 26, 2020 |archive-date=August 16, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240816121216/https://bwyellowjackets.com/sports/mtrack/harrisondillard |url-status=dead }}
* {{cite journal |url=https://www.bwyellowjackets.com/sports/mtrack/DillardESPN/ |title=Dillard Story Written By 1951 BW Graduate/ESPN Analyst Bud Collins |first=Bud |last=Collins |website=Baldwin Wallace Yellow Jackets |access-date=January 26, 2020 |archive-date=July 9, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220709032301/https://www.bwyellowjackets.com/sports/mtrack/DillardESPN |url-status=dead }}

==External links==
{{Commons category|Harrison Dillard}}
* [https://cplorg.contentdm.oclc.org/digital/collection/p4014coll27/id/1788/rec/1 Interview with Harrison Dillard], recorded September 13, 2012, at [[Cleveland Public Library]]'s Sports Research Center.
* [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WhXmwCqvz8M&t=2m15s Harrison Dillard 100m win at 1948 Olympics] (video)
* [https://libguides.bw.edu/c.php?g=1002685&p=7263984#HarrisonDillard Encyclopedia of Baldwin Wallace University History: Harrison Dillard]
* {{World Athletics}}
* {{USATF Hall of Fame}}
* {{Team USA Hall of Fame|new_id=harrison-dillard|old_id=Harrison-Dillard|archive=20230323045754}}
* {{Olympics.com|oc_archive=20191116153633|org_archive=20200121221458}}

{{Footer Olympic Champions 100 m Men}}
{{Footer Olympic Champions 110 m hurdles Men}}
{{Footer Olympic Champions 4x100 m Men|1948|1952}}
{{USA Indoor Track and Field Championships winners in men's 60 m hurdles}}
{{Footer US NC 110m Hurdles Men}}
{{Footer US NC 200m Hurdles Men}}
{{Sullivan Award winners}}
{{IAAF Hall of Fame}}
{{Footer USA Track & Field 1948 Summer Olympics}}
{{Footer USA Track & Field 1952 Summer Olympics}}
{{Footer Collegiate Track Field Cross Country Athlete Hall of Fame}}
{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dillard, Harrison}}
[[Category:1923 births]]
[[Category:2019 deaths]]
[[Category:African-American track and field athletes]]
[[Category:United States Army personnel of World War II]]
[[Category:American men hurdlers]]
[[Category:American men sprinters]]
[[Category:Athletes (track and field) at the 1948 Summer Olympics]]
[[Category:Athletes (track and field) at the 1952 Summer Olympics]]
[[Category:Baldwin Wallace Yellow Jackets men's track and field athletes]]
[[Category:Deaths from stomach cancer in Ohio]]
[[Category:James E. Sullivan Award recipients]]
[[Category:Maccabiah Games medalists in athletics]]
[[Category:Medalists at the 1948 Summer Olympics]]
[[Category:Medalists at the 1952 Summer Olympics]]
[[Category:Military personnel from Cleveland]]
[[Category:Olympic gold medalists for the United States in track and field]]
[[Category:Track and field athletes from Cleveland]]
[[Category:Buffalo Soldiers]]
[[Category:NCAA Division I Outdoor Track and Field Championships winners]]
[[Category:20th-century African-American sportsmen]]
[[Category:20th-century American sportsmen]]