Pop Culture
Willie Davenport enrolled at Southern University in Baton Rouge after his discharge from the U.S. Army and became one of the university's greatest athletes, ranking No. 1 in the world for six consecutive years in track and field. In the 1968 Olympic Games in Mexico City, he won the gold medal with an Olympic record time of 13.3 seconds. In the 1976 Montreal Games, he finished less than one-tenth of a second behind the winner and received the bronze medal. After President Jimmy Carter's boycott denied him the opportunity to compete in the 1980 Olympics in Moscow, Russia, he qualified for the Winter Olympics as a member of the U.S. bobsledding team. He was a U.S. Army private at the time of his first Olympic participation and had been promoted to colonel in the U.S. Army National Guard by the time of his death.
Hear stories like this as you drive
ExploreHere reads historical markers out loud as you pass them: over 325,000 stories across the US. No account needed.
4.7 · 800+ ratings · Free
FIND IT
Baton Rouge, Louisiana · United States
