Willie Davenport

One of the few athletes to participate in both an Olympic Summer Games and Olympic Winter Games, Willie Davenport competed as a hurdler and as a member of the four-man bobsled team. Born in Troy, Alabama, Davenport set a high school state record in the 120-meter hurdles and enrolled in the Army after his graduation. Davenport ran track while stationed in Germany and enrolled at Southern University upon being discharged from the Army, where he won a number of national championship titles in the 110 hurdles and 60-yard hurdles. He went on to win the gold medal at the Olympic Games Mexico City 1968 in the 110 hurdles and tie the 110 hurdles world record the following year. Davenport was one of the first two African Americans to make a winter U.S. Olympic Team after being selected to the 1980 U.S. Olympic Bobsled Team. Upon retiring from athletics, he coached the All-Army men’s and women’s track teams to four undefeated seasons and served on the National Fitness Leaders Association, the President’s Council on Physical Fitness and Sports and the National Black College Alumni Association. Davenport passed away in 2002 due to a heart attack.