Rod Milburn
Milburn c. 1972
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| Personal information | |||||||||||||||||||
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| Nationality | American | ||||||||||||||||||
| Born | March 18, 1950 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Died | November 11, 1997 (aged 47) Baton Rouge, LA |
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| Height | 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) | ||||||||||||||||||
| Weight | 175 lb (79 kg) | ||||||||||||||||||
| Sport | |||||||||||||||||||
| Sport | Running | ||||||||||||||||||
| Event(s) | 110 m hurdles | ||||||||||||||||||
| College team | Southern University | ||||||||||||||||||
| Achievements and titles | |||||||||||||||||||
| Personal best(s) |
110 m hurdles: 13.24 s (Munich 1972 then WR) |
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Medal record
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110 m hurdles: 13.24 s (Munich 1972 then WR)
Rodney "Rod" Milburn, Jr. (May 18, 1950 – November 11, 1997) was an American athlete who won gold at the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich in the 110m hurdles.
During the early 1970s, Milburn dominated the 110m hurdles, tying or breaking the world record for the 110 m hurdles/120 yards five times. 1971, as a sophomore at Southern University, was when Milburn announced himself on the national and world stage. Amongst his achievements that year was his first world record. In a semi-final of the USA Championships he broke the record for 120 y with 13.0 s. Milburn went on to win the title, in 13.1 s. Milburn was to remain undefeated in 1971, including winning the 110m hurdles event t the 1971 Pan-American Games. He also showed his versatility by winning a bronze as a member of the United States sprint relay team at the Pan-American Games. With these performances, Milburn earned the nickname "Hot Rod", and was awarded the Track and Field News Athlete of the Year Award. His home state, Louisiana, also recognised him by awarding him the James J. Corbett Award as the outstanding male athlete from the state in 1971. He was to receive the same award a second time in 1973.
The overwhelming favourite to qualify for the 1972 Munich Olympics. Milburn in fact struggled but did qualify in 3rd place at the USA Olympic Trials. In the final he hit hurdles due to the pressure of the world-record holder Willie Davenport running alongside him and only managed to hold the vital third and last qualifying place by a foot. In Munich Milburn won the gold medal in the 110m hurdles, tying the world record of 13.2 seconds, finishing ahead of Guy Drut and Thomas Hill. This time, which was recorded as 13.24 to the hundredth of a second, would become the first world record when only automatically recorded times would be ratified as world records.
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