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Quick Facts
- NAME: Willie Davenport
- OCCUPATION: Track and Field Athlete, Military Leader
- BIRTH DATE: June 08, 1943
- DEATH DATE: June 17, 2002
- PLACE OF BIRTH: Troy, Alabama
- PLACE OF DEATH: Chicago, Illinois
- Full Name: William D. Davenport
Best Known For
Willie Davenport was an Olympic athlete and medal winner and one of only a few Americans to compete in both the Summer and Winter games.
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Play NowWillie Davenport. (2013). The Biography Channel website. Retrieved 07:25, Jun 18, 2013, from http://www.biography.com/people/willie-davenport-248765.
Willie Davenport. [Internet]. 2013. The Biography Channel website. Available from: http://www.biography.com/people/willie-davenport-248765 [Accessed 18 Jun 2013].
"Willie Davenport." 2013. The Biography Channel website. Jun 18 2013, 07:25 http://www.biography.com/people/willie-davenport-248765.
"Willie Davenport," The Biography Channel website, 2013, http://www.biography.com/people/willie-davenport-248765 [accessed Jun 18, 2013].
"Willie Davenport," The Biography Channel website, http://www.biography.com/people/willie-davenport-248765 (accessed Jun 18, 2013).
Willie Davenport [Internet]. The Biography Channel website; 2013 [cited 2013 Jun 18] Available from: http://www.biography.com/people/willie-davenport-248765.
Willie Davenport, http://www.biography.com/people/willie-davenport-248765 (last visited Jun 18, 2013).
Willie Davenport. The Biography Channel website. 2013. Available at: http://www.biography.com/people/willie-davenport-248765. Accessed Jun 18, 2013.
Synopsis
Willie Davenport was the winner of the 110-meter hurdles at the U.S. Olympic trials in 1964. An injury cost him the Olympic Games that year, but he went on to compete three more times, winning the title in 1968 and winning the bronze in 1976. He was on the four-man bobsled team at the winter Olympics in Lake Placid, making him the fourth American to compete in both the Summer and Winter games.
Contents
Olympic Career
Track and field athlete and military officer William D. Davenport was born on June 8, 1943, in Troy, Alabama. An Army private, Davenport was the surprise winner of the 110-meter hurdles at the U.S. Olympic trials in 1964. An injury cost him the Olympic Games that year, but he went on to compete three more times, winning the title in Mexico in 1968. He finished fourth in 1972 and won the bronze in 1976.
Arguably Davenport's best event, however, was the 60-yard hurdles, which is not on the Olympic program. He was national champion in that event five times. In 1980, he was the runner for a four-man bobsled team at the winter Olympics in Lake Placid, making him the fourth American to compete in both the summer and winter games.
Davenport rose through Army ranks to serve as Colonel of the United States National Guard. He died of a heart attack on June 17, 2002.
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