COL'S D BIO
Listed below is a sketch of the "COL."
WILLIE D. DAVENPORT
"BREEZE"
Biographical Sketch
Breeze - - to move swiftly and airily; to make progress quickly and easily - - and a nickname given to Willie D. Davenport by his track friends. Recognized best for his achievements in the area of track and field, Willie Davenport was the first U. S. hurdler to compete in summer Olympic games. He made the Olympics for the fifth time in 1980, switching to the Winter Olympics and, with his team, setting a world record during the trials.
Born in Troy, Alabama, Willie is the oldest of seven children. His first athletic victory came as a junior in high school, when he was a semi-finalist in the Ohio State High School Track Meet. As a senior, he was the 120-yard High Hurdles Ohio state champ. After high school , Willie joined the Army and ran on the U. S. Army Track Team. During the time he was stationed in Germany, he also ran for the Mainz University Track Club.
Willie's first experience in the Olympics was on the 1964 track team where he made it to the semi-finals. After his discharge from the Army, Willie enrolled at Southern University in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, where he set records for the "best track team in the nation". He became both the national and NAIA indoor/outdoor high hurdle champion and a Collegiate All American.
A second chance to compete in the Olympics came in 1968 in Mexico City. There he broke the Olympic record, capturing the Olympic Gold Medal for the 110-meter High Hurdles.
In the late 60's and early 70's, Willie continued to break world records and excel in other areas of his professional life as well. After graduation from Southern University, he was appointed Director of the Mayor's Council for Youth Opportunity in Baton Rouge. In 1972, Willie, for the third, was time a member of the U. S. Olympic Team and placed fourth in the hurdles at the Munich Olympic Games. In 1973, he received a Master's Degree in Physical Education from Southern University.
WILLIE D. DAVENPORT
Biographical Sketch II
Page 2
In 1975, Willie suffered a severe knee injury. Doctors predicted he could never compete again. Willie proved them wrong when he tried out for and made the 1976 Olympic Team. When President Ford visited the Olympic team site in Plattsburg, N. Y., Willie was chosen by his fellow athletes to be their spokesperson. Willie's fourth competition in the Olympics was in Montreal in 1976. He earned the bronze medal in the hurdles and was selected by his team members to carry the American flag in the closing ceremony.
Willie's involvement with the Olympics has taken him from being an athlete to a spokesman, to a member of the United State Olympic Committee. As part of the planning committee, Willie became interested in wider participation in the Winter Olympics. In 1980, he and one of his teammates became the first African Americans to represent the United States in the Winter Olympics. The team captured the best qualifying time and set a new world record in the four-man bobsled event during the Olympic trials.
In protest of the USSR?s invasion of Afghanistan, none of the US athletes attended the Summer Olympic Games of 1980. The following year, Willie Davenport was inducted into the National Track and Field Hall of Fame.
In 1987, Willie realized a long time dream of participating in the national television network "Superstars" event. As a competitor in those events, he became the Masters Superstars Champion. In 1991, he was inducted into the Olympic Hall of Fame, an honor reserved for only a few select individuals in the world.
In 1989, Willie received the Healthy American Fitness Leaders award under a program sponsored by Allstate Life Insurance Company. The program was administered by the US Jaycees and conducted in cooperation with the President's Council on Physical Fitness & Sports. He is an honored member of National Fitness Leaders Association (NFLA), the alumni organization of all the previous award winners.
Currently a Colonel in the Army National Guard, Willie is the Chief of the Sports Management office. Responsible for the formulation of plans, policies, procedures, and directing the Nation Guard Sports Program. He directs and manages the administrative, promotional and evaluative requirements and function of all sports program. He is the subject matter expertise, information, adviser and assistance to other sport agencies, and the 54 States and Territories. Willie also establishes priorities and provides guidance to state Sports Management office.
He has established the Willie D. Davenport Sports Foundation to provide college scholarships for young high school female athletes in Oregon. Willie continues his interest in sports by participating in fitness programs all over America, helping young men and women bring out their best by developing their minds and building their bodies.
