Rodney Milburn (1992) - Hall of Fame - Southwestern Athletic Conference

Hall of Fame

Early Life & Background

Rodney Milburn Jr. was born May 18, 1950, in Opelousas, Louisiana.
He attended J.S. Clark High School (an all-Black school during segregation) in Opelousas, where he began hurdling under coach Claude Paxton.
After high school, Milburn enrolled at Southern University in Baton Rouge on an athletics scholarship.

Collegiate & Early Career Achievements

While at Southern University, Milburn quickly rose to the top of his event: the 110 m hurdles (or 120 yard hurdles in U.S. yards format).
In 1971 (his sophomore year), he had an undefeated season in the hurdles (28-0), broke the world record for 120 yards high hurdles (13.0 s) and was named the world’s top hurdler by Track & Field News.
He never lost a collegiate (NCAA/NAIA) hurdles championship indoors or outdoors while at Southern — going 12-0 in those finals.

Olympic & World-Record Highlights

At the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich, Milburn won gold in the 110 m hurdles with a time of 13.24 s, tying the world record.
He set or matched the world record in the 110 m/120 yd hurdles a number of times during the early 1970s.
His dominance spanned 1971-73 when he was ranked No. 1 in the world for his event.