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Athletic Accomplishments:
The road to the BYU Hall of Fame has led through many experiences and many places around the world for Cougar track standout Leonard Myles-Mills.
After older brother John, a former BYU sprinter and two-time Olympian, recommended his little brother Leonard to Cougar track coaches, the rest was history. The Ghana native's stay at BYU eventually led to three NCAA Championship titles and was the springboard to a prestigious career at the All-Africa Championships, World Championships and ultimately the Olympic Games.
Myles-Mills earned his first NCAA title and All-America citation his junior year in 1998, winning the 100-meter dash in 10.20 seconds at the NCAA Outdoor Championships. But nothing would compare to 1999 when Myles-Mills recorded one of the best seasons in the history of BYU track. Not only did Myles-Mills defend his 100-meter outdoor title, but he was also the indoor 60-meter dash NCAA champion and the anchor to the Cougar outdoor 400-meter medley relay team that finished third, making Myles-Mills a four-time All-American for his career.
In addition, Myles-Mills won the same four events in the Western Athletic Conference championship that season, including an NCAA-record time of 6.45 in the 60-meters. That time still stands as the fastest performance in NCAA history and African history and is the fifth-fastest time ever recorded.
At the All-Africa Games in 1999, the Cougar speedster won the 100-meters in Johannesburg, South Africa, and would later take the bronze medal at the Games four years later in Abuja, Nigeria.
Myles-Mills also competed in the IAAF World Championships, running the 60 meters in both 2003 and 2004, finishing seventh and third, respectively.
Myles-Mills holds numerous spots in the BYU record books, including second in the 100-meters (9.98), fourth in the 200-meters (20.54) and first in the 4x100 relay (38.88) in outdoor competition; and first in the 60-meters (6.45) and first in the 200-meters (20.61) in indoor competition.
After graduating with a degree in sociology in 1999, Myles-Mills went on to represent his native country in the 2000 Sydney and the 2004 Athens Olympics. In Sydney, he made it to the semifinals of the 100-meters, finishing ninth overall with a time of 10.25, in addition to participating in Ghana's 4x100-meter relay team. In Athens, Myles-Mills again competed in the same two events, barely missing the 100-meter finals with a time of 10.22. He also helped the national relay team to a sixth-place finish.
Leonard Myles-Mills married Tiffany Clawson in the Salt Lake Temple in December of 1998. The couple have three children, Benjamin, Alexander and Hannah. The family has found a home in Provo, as Myles-Mills has worked as BYU's sprint coach from 2001 to the present.
Before taking over as the sprinting coach in the 2001 season, Leonard Myles-Mills earned three All-America citations while running at BYU from 1996-1999. In his junior and senior seasons, he won back-to-back national championship titles in the 100-meter dash. He also ran on BYU's All-American 400-meters relay team, which finished third at the1999 NCAA Outdoor Track & Field Championships.
In the 2004 Summer Olympics, Myles-Mills qualified and competed for Ghana in the 4x100-meter relay and 100-meter dash. After posting a season-best time of 38.88, his team took sixth after competing together only a few times. In the 100-meters he advanced to the semifinals and ran a 10.22 but barely missed the finals.
"Leonard is a wonderful leader," said BYU track coach Mark Robison. "As a collegian, he accomplished everything you could accomplish, both indoors and outdoors. He brings a wealth of international experience with him as well. The kids like him and respect him, and he will be a tremendous asset to our program."
Myles-Mills, a native of Dansoman Accra, Ghana, represented his country in international competition by qualifying for the national team in 1998. He took third that year in the 100-meter dash at the African Championships in Senegal, which qualified him to compete in the World Cup in Athletics in Johannesburg, South Africa.
In 1999, he won first place at the All-African Games, also held in Johannesburg.
Myles-Mills competed in the 2000 Olympic Games in Sydney. He made it to the semi-finals of the 100-meter dash, finishing in ninth place overall.
"I was fortunate to have the best coaches here at BYU," Myles-Mills said. "This is a great opportunity for me to be able to come back here, to do what I know how to do, and to share some of the things I have learned with the athletes here."
In his first year as the BYU sprint coach, Myles-Mills led the Cougar sprinters to two All-America citations.
Myles-Mills is married to the former Tiffany Clawson and the couple has two boys.