Birth :
Billy Mills was born on a reservation in Pine Ridge, South Dakota on June 30, 1938. Billy lost his mother at the age of 7. His father passed away when he was 12. Neither one of his parents were of full Sioux ancestry.Foster Care Experience:
Billy was sent to boarding schools after the death of his father. One of the schools being in Lawrence, Kansas. He felt rejection from being of "mixed blood" not fitting in to the white community or the Indian community. He took up running as a way to deal with his losses. He would often cry while running.Olympic Record:
Won the gold medal in the 1964, 10,000 meter race with a record setting time of 28 minutes 24.01 seconds.Known for:
Beating the odds in the 1964 Olympics, the sponsors almost didn't allow him to have running shoes, only having enough for the athletes expected to win.Fun Fact:
Graduated from the University of Kansas. He also joined the Marine Corp. He says: “All my life I felt like I didn’t belong. The Marine Corps said ‘You belong’”. Mills encourages youth to consider the Marines due to the influence the Corp had on his life.Back to Famous Foster Kids Index.
