Olympic Tokyo Website Features Clarence Hill
The Olympic Tokyo 2020 website has highlighted Bermuda’s Clarence Hill, whose medal winning performance in 1976 gave the island the distinction of being the smallest nation in the world to win an Olympic medal.
A story in the Tokyo 2020 website said, “While winning an Olympic medal is a personal goal for thousands of athletes, for 24 nations it is a dream that has only ever come true once.
“Growing up as a troubled teenager in Newark, New Jersey, Clarence Hill diverted his energy from the streets to the ring.
“Moving back to Bermuda in 1972, he started his amateur boxing career at the Pembroke Youth Centre training under Stanley Trimm.
“From early on, Hill had dreamt of becoming “the heavyweight champion of Bermuda” and wanted “to win an Olympic medal”.
“At that time, Bermuda had never won an Olympic medal despite sending athletes to every Olympic Games since 1936 with the exception of Moscow 1980. The closest they came to medalling was at Tokyo 1964 when Bermuda finished fifth at the Dragon sailing event.
“Sadly, many didn’t believe in Hill’s dream of winning an Olympic medal, but the youngster, who was in his early 20′s when he took up boxing, knew he had the heart to do it and was going to prove them wrong.
“To date, Hill is the only Bermudian to win an Olympic medal and it made the small British Overseas Territory – the least populated nation [53,500 in 1976] to ever win a medal at the Summer Olympics.”
You can read the full story here on the Tokyo 2020 website.
I guess after he passes away, there will be something in his honour.
Great article
Very happy the Tokyo Olympic website published this piece… Hold your head high Clarence you deserve it!
There is no mention of his trainer at the time Gary “Doc” Smith.