William Mervin Mills (born June 30, 1938), also known by his Oglala Lakota name Tamakhóčhe Theȟíla, is an American Oglala Lakota former track and field athlete who won a gold medal in the 10,000 metre run (6.2 mi) at the 1964 Tokyo Olympics. His 1964 victory is considered one of the greatest Olympic upsets because he was a virtual unknown going into the event. He was the first non-European to win the Olympic event and remains the only winner from the Americas. He was also a United States Marine officer.
HINT:
In this Dossier
Billy Mills in the context of Cinder track
A cinder track is a type of race track, generally purposed for track and field or horse racing, whose surface is composed of cinders. For running tracks, many cinder surfaces have been replaced by all-weather synthetic surfaces, which provide greater durability and more consistent results, and are less stressful on runners. The impact on performance as a result of differing track surfaces is a topic often raised when comparing athletes from different eras.
Synthetic tracks emerged in the late 1960s; the 1964 Olympics were the last to use a cinder track.
View the full Wikipedia page for Cinder track