Thomas "Tom" William Courtney (born August 17, 1933) is a retired

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athlete, winner of two gold medals in the 1956 Olympic Games Tom Courtney came into national prominence while a student at Fordham University, winning the 1955

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880 yd (805 m) title. An AAU champion in 400 m at 1956 and in 880 yd (805 m) at 1957 and 1958, Courtney had a memorable duel with Derek Johnson of

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in the 1956 Olympic 800 m final. Johnson took a narrow lead with 40 meters to go, but finally Courtney won by 0.13 seconds, and collapsed with exhaustion. He later wrote: : ''"It was a new kind of agony for me. My head was exploding, my stomach ripping and even the tips of my fingers ached. The only thing I could think was, 'If I live, I will never run again.'"'' The medal ceremony had to be delayed for an hour while he and Johnson recovered. But Courtney did run again. He was the anchorman on the gold medal 4 × 400 m

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team. He also set a

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 ...

of 1:46.8 in the 880 yd (805 m) on May 24, 1957. Courtney received a

bachelor's degree A bachelor's degree (from Middle Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate academic degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six ...

from Fordham University in 1955, and since 1994, the (autographed) varsity jacket from his college track days hangs in a display case along with similar memorabilia from other great Fordham athletes, such as

Vince Lombardi Vincent Thomas Lombardi (June 11, 1913 – September 3, 1970) was an American football coach and executive in the National Football League (NFL). Lombardi is considered by many to be the greatest coach in football history, and he is recognized a ...

. Courtney's victory was the last in a series of four straight 800 meter gold medals by the US and the seventh overall to that point in time. He could be considered the end of the dynasty. Since then, the USA has only had one other male winner,

Dave Wottle David James Wottle (born August 7, 1950) is an American retired middle-distance track athlete. He was the gold medalist in the 800 meter run at the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich and a world record holder in the 800 meters. In 1973, Wottle also ...

in 1972 and have only won four bronze medals. He would later earn his MBA from Harvard Business School.

References

USATF Hall of Fame Bio
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Courtney, Tom 1933 births Living people Track and field athletes from Newark, New Jersey American male sprinters American male middle-distance runners Athletes (track and field) at the 1956 Summer Olympics Fordham Rams men's track and field athletes Olympic gold medalists for the United States in track and field Medalists at the 1956 Summer Olympics Harvard Business School alumni 20th-century American people