Billy Olson was undefeated in Lone Star Conference and NAIA national meets in his four seasons at ACU. He won league and NAIA indoor and outdoor titles in 1978, 1979, 1980 and 1982. He was ranked number one in the world in 1982 as a senior at ACU.
Olson was the first person to vault 19 feet indoors and the first American to vault 19 feet. He finished 12th at the Olympic Games in Seoul, South Korea, in 1988 and won a bronze medal at the 1981 World Cup in Rome. He set 11 world indoor records in the vault from 1982 to 1986.
Olson retired with a personal best of 19-5.5, still fifth on the all-time U.S. list and 12th on the all-time world list. Olson was inducted into the ACU Sports Hall of Fame in 1993, Lone Star Conference Hall of Honor in 1997, and the Millrose Games Hall of Fame in 2003.
Olson and his wife, Stephanie, have one daughter, Maddi.
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