Leonard ("Leo") Myles-Mills (born 9 May 1973 in Accra, Greater Accra Region) is a Ghanaian former athlete who specialized in the 100 metres. He ran a personal best of 9.98 seconds for the event in 1998, becoming the first Ghanaian to break the 10-second barrier. His best of 6.45 seconds for the 60 metres is an African record. Myles-Mills twice represented his country at the Summer Olympics and also at the Commonwealth Games. He was a two-time NCAA Men's 100 m dash champion while running for Brigham Young University.

Leonard Myles-Mills
Personal information
NationalityGhanaian
Born (1973-05-09) 9 May 1973 (age 51)
Accra, Ghana
Height1.75 m (5 ft 9 in)
Weight70 kg (11 st 0 lb; 154 lb)
Sport
CountryGhana
SportTrack and field
College teamBYU Cougars
Achievements and titles
Personal best(s)100 m: 9.98 sec (1999)
200 m: 20.54 sec (1998)
Medal record
Representing  Ghana
Men's athletics
All-Africa Games
Gold medal – first place 1999 Johannesburg 100 m
Bronze medal – third place 2003 Abuja 100 m
African Championships in Athletics
Bronze medal – third place 1998 Dakar 100 m[1]

His brother John Myles-Mills was also a sprint athlete.[2]

He has won a gold medal at the 1999 All-Africa Games, a silver medal at the 2003 All-Africa Games and a bronze medal at the 1998 African Championships. In 1999 he set a new African indoor record in 60 metres with 6.45 seconds.[3] 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.[4]

Participating in the 2004 Summer Olympics, 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.[5]

Myles-Mills is a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.[6]

International competitions

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Year Competition Venue Position Event Notes
1999 All-Africa Games Johannesburg, South Africa 1st 100 m 9.99 s
2003 All-Africa Games Abuja, Nigeria 3rd 100 m 10.03 s

See also

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References

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  1. ^ Athletics Weekly
  2. ^ Leonard Myles-Mills Staff Bio | Men's Track Assistant Coach. BYU Cougars. Retrieved on 2015-07-14.
  3. ^ African indoor records - IAAF
  4. ^ Commonwealth All-Time Lists (Men) Archived 2007-05-20 at the Wayback Machine - GBR Athletics
  5. ^ 28th Olympic Games Men 100 metres Semi-Final Results World Athletics. Retrieved on 2021-11-12.
  6. ^ "LDS athletes mine Oly 'metals'", Church News, 2004-08-28.
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  • Leonard Myles-Mills at World Athletics  
  • Evans, Hilary; Gjerde, Arild; Heijmans, Jeroen; Mallon, Bill; et al. "Leonard Myles-Mills". Olympics at Sports-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on 18 April 2020.