Earl John "Tommy" Thomson (February 15, 1895 – May 19, 1971) was a Canadian athlete, a specialist in the high

hurdles Hurdling is the act of jumping over an obstacle at a high speed or in a sprint. In the early 19th century, hurdlers ran at and jumped over each hurdle (sometimes known as 'burgles'), landing on both feet and checking their forward motion. Today, ...

. In 1920 he became the first Olympic gold medalist in 110 m hurdles from outside the United States.

Biography

Born in Birch Hills,

Northwest Territories The Northwest Territories (abbreviated ''NT'' or ''NWT''; french: Territoires du Nord-Ouest, formerly ''North-Western Territory'' and ''North-West Territories'' and namely shortened as ''Northwest Territory'') is a federal territory of Canada. ...

(now in

Saskatchewan Saskatchewan ( ; ) is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province in Western Canada, western Canada, bordered on the west by Alberta, on the north by the Northwest Territories, on the east by Manitoba, to the northeast by Nunavut, and on t ...

), Thomson moved to southern

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

at age 8, because the warm weather would be better for his mother. Thomson attended

Long Beach Poly Long Beach Polytechnic High School, founded in 1895 as Long Beach High School, is a four-year public high school located at 1600 Atlantic Avenue in Long Beach, California, United States. The school serves portions of Long Beach, including Bixby ...

, where he won the 120 yard hurdles at the first CIF California State Meet in 1915. He also was second in the high jump and fourth in the discus throw. In 1916 he joined the

Royal Canadian Air Force The Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF; french: Aviation royale canadienne, ARC) is the air and space force of Canada. Its role is to "provide the Canadian Forces with relevant, responsive and effective airpower". The RCAF is one of three environm ...

, and served there during

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

. He then went to the

University of Southern California The University of Southern California (USC, SC, or Southern Cal) is a Private university, private research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Founded in 1880 by Robert M. Widney, it is the oldest private research university in C ...

for one year and then transferred to

Dartmouth College Dartmouth College (; ) is a private research university in Hanover, New Hampshire. Established in 1769 by Eleazar Wheelock, it is one of the nine colonial colleges chartered before the American Revolution. Although founded to educate Native A ...

. He graduated from there in 1922.USC OLYMPIANS: 1904–2004
USC Trojans Athletic Department, Accessed August 13, 2008. In 1918, he had already won the AAU championships in the high hurdles, and in 1920, he set a new

world record A world record is usually the best global and most important performance that is ever recorded and officially verified in a specific skill, sport, or other kind of activity. The book ''Guinness World Records'' and other world records organization ...

in the 110 m hurdles, running 14.4. This record would remain unbeaten until 1931, although it was equaled a number of times. He sought to represent the United States at the

1920 Summer Olympics The 1920 Summer Olympics (french: Jeux olympiques d'été de 1920; nl, Olympische Zomerspelen van 1920; german: Olympische Sommerspiele 1920), officially known as the Games of the VII Olympiad (french: Jeux de la VIIe olympiade; nl, Spelen van ...

Antwerp Antwerp (; nl, Antwerpen ; french: Anvers ; es, Amberes) is the largest city in Belgium by area at and the capital of Antwerp Province in the Flemish Region. With a population of 520,504,

, but was ruled ineligible due to his Canadian citizenship. He then joined the Canadian Olympic team. At the Olympics, Thomson won a clear victory over his American rivals. The following year, he equaled his own world record, and won the AAU,

IC4A IC4A Championships (Intercollegiate Association of Amateur Athletes of America) is an annual men's competition held at different colleges every year. Association was established in 1875, the competition (started in 1876) served as the top level col ...

and

NCAA The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. It also organizes the athletic programs of colleges an ...

championships. That year he also won the 220 yard low hurdles. He retired after his third AAU title, in 1922. Later, Thomson became a track and field coach, coaching the team of the

United States Naval Academy The United States Naval Academy (US Naval Academy, USNA, or Navy) is a federal service academy in Annapolis, Maryland. It was established on 10 October 1845 during the tenure of George Bancroft as Secretary of the Navy. The Naval Academy ...

Annapolis, Maryland Annapolis ( ) is the capital city of the U.S. state of Maryland and the county seat of, and only incorporated city in, Anne Arundel County. Situated on the Chesapeake Bay at the mouth of the Severn River, south of Baltimore and about east o ...

for 36 years. In 1930 Thomson, along with

Harold Barron Harold Earl Barron (August 29, 1894 – October 5, 1978) was an American sprinter. He specialized in the 110 m hurdles, in which he won a silver medal at the 1920 Summer Olympics. Nationally Barron won the AAU hurdles title in 1917 and 1920 a ...

and

Harry Hillman Harry Livingston Hillman Jr. (September 8, 1881 – August 9, 1945) was an American athlete and winner of three gold medals at the 1904 Summer Olympics. Biography Born in Brooklyn, New York, Hillman was a member of three Olympic tea ...

, was involved in the design of a new safer hurdle, with a view to reducing the danger of bad falls and injuries. Thomson was an inaugural inductee to

Canada's Sports Hall of Fame Canada's Sports Hall of Fame (french: Panthéon des sports canadiens; sometimes referred to as the Canadian Sports Hall of Fame) is a Canadian sports hall of fame and museum in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. Dedicated to the history of sports in Canad ...

in 1955. He died of

cancer Cancer is a group of diseases involving abnormal cell growth with the potential to invade or spread to other parts of the body. These contrast with benign tumors, which do not spread. Possible signs and symptoms include a lump, abnormal b ...

Oceanside, California Oceanside is a city on the South Coast (California), South Coast of California, located in San Diego County, California, San Diego County. The city had a population of 167,086 at the 2010 United States Census, 2010 census. The city is a popular ...

aged 76.

References

External links

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Thomson, Earl 1895 births 1971 deaths People from Birch Hills Olympic track and field athletes of Canada Olympic gold medalists for Canada Canadian male hurdlers Sportspeople from Saskatchewan Athletes (track and field) at the 1920 Summer Olympics Canadian expatriate sportspeople in the United States University of Southern California alumni Canadian Air Force personnel Track and field athletes from California Medalists at the 1920 Summer Olympics Dartmouth College alumni Olympic gold medalists in athletics (track and field) Deaths from cancer in California Long Beach Polytechnic High School alumni