Leonard ("Leo") Myles-Mills (born May 9, 1973, in

Accra Accra (; tw, Nkran; dag, Ankara; gaa, Ga or ''Gaga'') is the capital and largest city of Ghana, located on the southern coast at the Gulf of Guinea, which is part of the Atlantic Ocean. As of 2021 census, the Accra Metropolitan District, , ...

Greater Accra Region The Greater Accra Region has the smallest area of Ghana's 16 administrative regions, occupying a total land surface of 3,245 square kilometres. This is 1.4 per cent of the total land area of Ghana. It is the second most populated region, befor ...

) is a

Ghana Ghana (; tw, Gaana, ee, Gana), officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country in West Africa. It abuts the Gulf of Guinea and the Atlantic Ocean to the south, sharing borders with Ivory Coast in the west, Burkina Faso in the north, and To ...

ian former athlete who specialized in the

100 metres The 100 metres, or 100-meter dash, is a sprint race in track and field competitions. The shortest common outdoor running distance, the dash is one of the most popular and prestigious events in the sport of athletics. It has been conteste ...

. He ran a personal best of 9.98 seconds for the event in 1998, becoming the first Ghanaian to break the

10-second barrier The 10-second barrier is the physical and psychological barrier of completing the 100 metres sprint in under ten seconds. The achievement is traditionally regarded as the hallmark of a world-class male sprinter. Its significance has become less i ...

. His best of 6.45 seconds for the

60 metres 60 metres, or 60-meter dash, is a sprint event in track and field. It is a championship event for indoor championships, normally dominated by the best outdoor 100 metres runners. At outdoor venues it is a rare distance, at least for senior at ...

is an African record. Myles-Mills twice represented his country at the

Summer Olympics The Summer Olympic Games (french: link=no, Jeux olympiques d'été), also known as the Games of the Olympiad, and often referred to as the Summer Olympics, is a major international multi-sport event normally held once every four years. The inau ...

and also at the

Commonwealth Games The Commonwealth Games, often referred to as the Friendly Games or simply the Comm Games, are a quadrennial international multi-sport event among athletes from the Commonwealth of Nations. The event was first held in 1930, and, with the exce ...

. He was a two-time NCAA Men's 100 m dash champion while running for

Brigham Young University Brigham Young University (BYU, sometimes referred to colloquially as The Y) is a private research university in Provo, Utah. It was founded in 1875 by religious leader Brigham Young and is sponsored by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day ...

. His brother John Myles-Mills was also a sprint athlete. He has won a gold medal at the 1999 All-Africa Games, a silver medal at the

2003 All-Africa Games The 8th All Africa Games were 5–17 October 2003 in Abuja, Nigeria. 53 countries participated in 23 sports. The main venue was the newly constructed Abuja Stadium. The organizing committee was headed by Nigerian Amos Adamu. Venues * Moshood ...

and a bronze medal at the 1998 African Championships. In 1999 he set a new African indoor record in

with 6.45 seconds. His personal best over 100 metres; 9.98 seconds was a Ghanaian record until Benjamin Azamati broke it by running a time of 9.97 seconds in 100 meters at the Texas relays on 26 March 2021. Participating in the

2004 Summer Olympics The 2004 Summer Olympics ( el, Θερινοί Ολυμπιακοί Αγώνες 2004, ), officially the Games of the XXVIII Olympiad ( el, Αγώνες της 28ης Ολυμπιάδας, ) and also known as Athens 2004 ( el, Αθήνα 2004), ...

, he achieved a third place in the 100 metres, thus securing qualification from his heat in a season's best time. Entering the second round, he managed to qualify through to the semi-final, following a third place in the race and recording a further improvement upon his season's best. He finished the semi-final in sixth place, thus failing to secure qualification to the final. Myles-Mills is a member of

the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, informally known as the LDS Church or Mormon Church, is a Nontrinitarianism, nontrinitarian Christianity, Christian church that considers itself to be the Restorationism, restoration of the ...

."LDS athletes mine Oly 'metals'", ''

Church News The ''Church News'' (or ''LDS Church News'') is a weekly tabloid-sized supplement to the ''Deseret News'' and the ''MormonTimes'', a Salt Lake City, Utah newspaper owned by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church). It is ...

'', 2004-08-28.

International competitions

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Myles-Mills, Leonard Alumni of the Accra Academy 1973 births Living people Sportspeople from Accra Ghanaian male sprinters Olympic athletes of Ghana Athletes (track and field) at the 2000 Summer Olympics Athletes (track and field) at the 2004 Summer Olympics Commonwealth Games competitors for Ghana Athletes (track and field) at the 1998 Commonwealth Games Athletes (track and field) at the 2006 Commonwealth Games World Athletics Championships athletes for Ghana Black Mormons BYU Cougars men's track and field athletes Ghanaian Latter Day Saints African Games gold medalists for Ghana African Games medalists in athletics (track and field) Athletes (track and field) at the 1999 All-Africa Games Athletes (track and field) at the 2003 All-Africa Games

International competitions

See also

References

External links