Hazzard Dill

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Wikipedia

Hazzard Dill
Personal information
NationalityBermudian
BornFlorentus Hazzard Willis Dill
(1918-09-01)1 September 1918
Sandys Parish, Bermuda
Died20 August 2001(2001-08-20) (aged 82)
Bermuda
Sport
SportSprinting
Event(s)
200 metres, 400 metres

Florentus Hazzard Willis Dill (1 September 1918 – 20 August 2001) was a Bermudian sprinter. He competed for Bermuda in the 200 metres, 400 metres, and the men's 4 × 100 metres relay at the 1948 Summer Olympics.[1]

Biography

Florentus Hazzard Willis Dill was born on 1 September 1918 in Sandys Parish, Bermuda.[1] During World War II, he fought as part of the First Caribbean Regiment in Italy and Egypt, under the rank of Gunner.[2][3] Before his time in the regiment, Dill had trained as a runner. Determining that to run faster he needed strong legs, he trained by running with 5-pound (2.3 kg) weights strapped to each leg; this practice ended after he enlisted, where he was instructed in physical training techniques.[4] During his time in the military, Dill competed in athletics events for War Certificates which had monetary value.[5] In 1942, Dill set a Bermudian record of 52.0 in the 440-yard run.[3] After the war, he went onto join the Bermuda Amateur Sports Association, an organisation that was created to support black athletes.[6]

At the Bermuda Olympic Track and Field Trials for the 1948 Summer Olympics in London, Dill set a new Bermudian record of 53.6 seconds in the 400 metres, and he was part of the team that set a new Bermudian record of 45.8 in the 4 × 100 metres relay.[7] On 22 June 1948, the Bermuda Olympic team was announced, which included Dill as one of the twelve athletes selected.[8] The 1948 delegation was the first Bermudian Olympic team to include black athletes, of which Dill was one.[6]

Dill represented Bermuda at the Olympics in the 200 metres, 400 metres, and the men's 4 × 100 metres relay.[1] In the 200 metres, he finished fifth in his heat,[9] in the 400 metres, he ran a time of 45.4 to finish third in his heat,[10][11] and in the 4 × 100 metres relay,[12] the Bermudian team finished fifth in their heat with a time of 45.4. He did not progress to the second round in any event.[9][10][12]

While away at the Olympics, Hazzard became the father of a son.[13] At the 1952 Bermuda Olympic Trials, Dill placed second in the 400 metres,[14] and at a 1953 meet pitting Bermudan athletes against Royal Navy athletes, he won the 220 yards event.[15]

After the Olympics, he worked for the Department of Education to look after Bermuda's playing fields.[2]

In 1944, Dill married Mabel Louis Butterfield.[16] He lived in Pembroke and had at least two sons, named Paul and Malcolm.[2][17][18] In 1994, he won an award at the Bermuda House of Assembly for his sporting achievements.[19] He died on 20 August 2001 in Bermuda.[1]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 "Olympedia – Hazzard Dill". Olympedia. Retrieved 30 January 2021.
  2. 1 2 3 "Old Bus Will be Summer Home – 2-ton Vehicle Hauled to Somerset and Down Steep Hillside". The Royal Gazette. 5 July 1953. p. 1. Retrieved 29 June 2025.
  3. 1 2 "Track and Field Records". Bermuda Sports. September 1951. p. 33. Retrieved 7 July 2025.
  4. ↑ Dill, Hazzard (6 December 1947). "Passing Shots". The Royal Gazette. p. 12. Retrieved 8 July 2025.
  5. ↑ "Dill Admits: "I Was a Professional"". The Royal Gazette. 15 January 1970. p. 8. Retrieved 7 July 2025.
  6. 1 2 "Among the Racism Perry O. Johnson -Hazzard Dill- Phyllis Edness". Bermuda Heritage Museum. 16 February 2022. Retrieved 7 July 2025.
  7. ↑ "Records Fall by Wayside as Track and Field Trials for Olympics Concluded". The Royal Gazette. 7 June 1948. p. 6. Retrieved 29 June 2025.
  8. ↑ "Twelve Athletes Chosen to Represent Bermuda". The Royal Gazette. 22 June 1948. p. 6. Retrieved 27 June 2025.
  9. 1 2 "Olympedia – 200 metres, Men". Olympedia. Retrieved 29 June 2025.
  10. 1 2 "Olympedia – 400 metres, Men". Olympedia. Retrieved 29 June 2025.
  11. ↑ Brown, Bernard (5 August 1948). "Lightbourn, Dill and Shanks Ousted Yesterday; 'Mudians in Only Three More Events". The Royal Gazette. p. 1. Retrieved 27 June 2025.
  12. 1 2 "Olympedia – 4 x 100 metres Relay, Men". Olympedia. Retrieved 29 June 2025.
  13. ↑ "Bermuda Olympic Team Welcomed Home; Cheered by Supporters at Aeroport". The Royal Gazette. 30 August 1948. p. 1. Retrieved 29 June 2025.
  14. ↑ "Few Athletes Qualify in Olympic Track and Field Trials but Records Fall". Bermuda Sports. June 1952. p. 40. Retrieved 29 June 2025.
  15. ↑ "Bermuda Defeat Royal Navy in Track and Field Meet". The Royal Gazette. 11 July 1953. p. 8. Retrieved 29 June 2025.
  16. ↑ "Notice of Intended Marriage". The Royal Gazette. 4 March 1947. p. 2. Retrieved 8 July 2025.
  17. ↑ "Karla Danette Patricia Dill and Malcolm Keith Dill". The Royal Gazette. 17 May 2006. Retrieved 8 July 2025.
  18. ↑ Brown, Walter (17 June 2005). "Father and Son Keep Up a Family Tradition of Service". The Royal Gazette. Retrieved 8 July 2025.
  19. ↑ "MPs give Bermuda's top athletes the thumbs up". The Royal Gazette. 12 February 1994. Retrieved 8 July 2025.