Random Article Summary #88

William Preston Miller (1930–2016) was an American javelin thrower. He represented the United States at the 1952 Summer Olympics in Helsinki, Finland. In the competition, he won the silver medal with a throw of 72.46 meters. Miller was born in Lawnside, New Jersey. After graduating from Haddon Heights High School, he won the American Athletic Union competition twice, in 1952 and again in 1954. He was a proud African-American and Native American athlete and was among the few Native Americans to represent the United States at the Olympics. He earned a bachelor’s degree and a master’s in psychology at Arizona State University, and later completed an extra year of graduate study in International Affairs at the University of Pennsylvania. While competing for Arizona State’s track and field team at the NCAA Championships, he placed 5th in the javelin throw in 1949 and 3rd in 1950. In 1954, Bill Miller was not allowed to set a world javelin record because his javelin was broken and, after being repaired, its balance point was outside the required limits. Although he threw 266 feet, the attempt was rejected due to the change in the javelin’s center of gravity. Bill Miller’s athletic success included more than javelin records; he also competed in the decathlon, taking part in events like the javelin and high jump. He competed as an American decathlete in 1952, and in July 1970 he returned to competition, finishing second in the javelin at the 1970 Masters National Outdoor Track and Field Championship.