Harry Hillman

Who was Harry Hillman?

Harry Livingston Hillman Jr. was an American athlete and winner of three gold medals at the 1904 Summer Olympics.

Born in Brooklyn, New York, Hillman was a member of three Olympic teams at the turn of the century. He also was a coach at Dartmouth College.

Hillman won three gold medals at the 1904 Olympics in St. Louis, Missouri, taking the flat 400 metres, the 200 metres hurdles and the 400 metres hurdles. He had Olympic record times in all three events, but Hillman tripped one hurdle in the 400 metres, which meant that his time of 53.0 seconds could not be counted as a world record. In addition, the race was run over hurdles that were too low at 76 centimetres instead of the normal 91,4.

En route to Greece for the 1906 Summer Olympics, Hillman was one of a half-dozen athletes who were injured by an enormous wave that washed over the deck of the ship. He finished fifth in the 400 metres, his only event that year.

Hillman won a silver medal in the 400 metres hurdles at the 1908 Summer Olympics, setting a short-lived record in the second round.