Bob Tisdall
Encyclopedia
Robert Morton Newburgh Tisdall (16 May 1907 in Nuwara Eliya
, Ceylon now Sri Lanka
– 27 July 2004 in Nambour
, Queensland
, Australia
) was an Irish athlete of English origin who won a gold medal in the 400 metre hurdles at the 1932 Summer Olympics
in Los Angeles
.
Tisdall was raised in Nenagh
, County Tipperary
. He had run only six 400 m hurdles when he won the gold medal at the 1932 Olympic Games
in a world record
time of 51.7 seconds, which was not recognised under the rules of time because he had a hit a hurdle. Later, because of this incident, the rules were changed and the President of the IOC
, Juan Antonio Samaranch
, presented Tisdall with a Waterford crystal
rose bowl with the image of him knocking over the last hurdle etched into the glass.
he went on to Shrewsbury
, Tisdall won the Public Schools 440 yards (402 m), and at Cambridge
he won a record four events – 440 yards (402 m) and 120 yards (110 m) hurdles, long jump
and shot put
– in the annual match against Oxford
. This record was only equalled nearly 60 years later. Tisdall had a chance to compete in five events, but selected Ted Cawston to run for him in the 220 yd (201 m) low hurdles so that Cawston could receive his "blue". Cawston justified his selection by winning the event that Tisdall had won the previous two years.
Tisdall set South Africa
n and Canadian
records in the 220 yards (201 m) low hurdles in 1929, a year later setting Greek
records in the same event. While at Cambridge in March 1932, he decided to try for a place in the Irish Olympic squad and after he ran 54.2 seconds (a record) for the Irish Championship 440 yards (402 m) hurdles in June that year, the authorities agreed to let him run in his new event at the Los Angeles
Olympics, where he also came eighth in the decathlon
.
, as an independent nation, had won its first Olympic gold medal at Amsterdam
with Dr Pat O'Callaghan's
unexpected victory in the hammer
event. At the time he was barely out of the novice class and he had been included in the Irish Team mainly to gain experience of top-class competition. Over the years, he was to develop into one of the world's greatest hammer-throwers and he demonstrated this by winning his second Olympic gold medal at Los Angeles in 1932.
This in fact brought a very special moment in Olympic history for Ireland. Within the short space of an hour Ireland won two Olympic gold medals on Monday, 1 August 1932.
The first was won by Tisdall. His father won the All-Irish Sprint Championship; his mother played hockey
for Ireland and was a formidable golf
er. His Olympic victory had the "element of a fairy tale about it", as one commentator put it.
Tisdall had, in the midst of The Depression, what he describes as "the best job in the world", as an aide to a young India
n Maharaja
, escorting him around Europe
, showing him the cultural and natural sights. To pursue his Olympic dream, Tisdall had to leave this job and live in a disused railway carriage in an orchard, where he trained by running around the rows of trees.
Early in 1932, he wrote to General Eoin O'Duffy
, then the President of the Olympic Council of Ireland
, and asked to be considered for the Irish Olympic Team in the 400 metres hurdles and he also confessed that he had not previously run in the event.
O'Duffy was convinced that Tisdall could achieve a good time and later invited Tisdall to compete in a special Olympic trial at Croke Park
in Dublin. Tisdall failed to make the qualifying time, but O'Duffy gave him another chance and Tisdall qualified for the Irish Team by winning the National 440 yards (402 m) hurdles title at the Irish Championships, also at Croke Park. At the team training camp, Tisdall discovered that there were no hurdles, so he collected driftwood from the beach and set up some crude hurdles on the greyhound racing track. This took him much of the morning, but just when he was ready to hurdle, someone activated the mechanical rabbit, which sped around the track rail, promptly knocking all the makeshift hurdles over. Finding out that there were hurdles available at a local girls' school, Tisdall cycled there and back each day, to use the hurdles, as the students were on vacation.
After winning his preliminary Olympic heat in Los Angeles, Tisdall equalled the Olympic record of 52.8 seconds in the semi-finals. As this was only the fifth time he competed at this event, Tisdall says: "I said to myself, 'Well, you've run in the semi-finals and equalled the Olympic record; Bob, you're really getting the hang of this!"
Then in the final, despite stumbling at the final hurdle, he won the Olympic gold medal in 51.7 seconds which would have been a world record but for the fact that he had knocked over the last hurdle, and under the laws prevailing at the time, this ruled out recognition of a world record. It is worth noting that four Olympic hurdles champions appeared in that one race.
"At that moment I experienced a strange feeling of loneliness--everything was strangely quiet--I began to wonder if the rest of the field had fallen over" - Bob Tisdall, approaching the final hurdle of the 1932 Olympic Games 400 m hurdles final, five meters ahead of the field.
After his victory, Tisdall was invited to a dinner in Los Angeles where he was seated next to Amelia Earhart
on one side and Douglas Fairbanks, Jr.
on the other.
, where he ran a gymnasium during the day, which he converted to a night club after dark. He grew coffee in Tanzania
, but moved to Nambour in 1969 with his wife Peggy, where he farmed fruit crops and cattle. He admitted to running his last race at the age of 80, though he ran in the Sydney Olympic
torch relay at age 93. At that point he was the oldest living recipient of an individual track and field Olympic medal and was offered the opportunity to present the medals for the 400m hurdles at the Sydney Olympics but declined as he felt it would detract from the attention due to the winner.
At the age of 96 he fell down a steep set of rock stairs and broke his shoulder, ribs and ruptured his spleen. He never completely recovered and died on 27 July 2004, aged 97. At that time, he was the world's oldest track and field Olympic Gold medalist.
Tisdall did not want a funeral, because "they are altogether too sad." His wake was attended by family and a few friends.
Nuwara Eliya
Nuwara Eliya , meaning "city on the plain " or "city of light", is a town in the central highlands of Sri Lanka with a picturesque landscape and temperate climate. It is located at an altitude of 1,868 m and is considered to be the most important location for Tea production in Sri Lanka...
, Ceylon now Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka is a country off the southern coast of the Indian subcontinent. Known until 1972 as Ceylon , Sri Lanka is an island surrounded by the Indian Ocean, the Gulf of Mannar and the Palk Strait, and lies in the vicinity of India and the...
– 27 July 2004 in Nambour
Nambour, Queensland
The area now known as Nambour, was first settled in 1870. The town was then called Petrie's Creek. In 1890 the Maroochy Divisional Board was established...
, Queensland
Queensland
Queensland is a state of Australia, occupying the north-eastern section of the mainland continent. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Australia and New South Wales to the west, south-west and south respectively. To the east, Queensland is bordered by the Coral Sea and Pacific Ocean...
, Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
) was an Irish athlete of English origin who won a gold medal in the 400 metre hurdles at the 1932 Summer Olympics
1932 Summer Olympics
The 1932 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the X Olympiad, was a major world wide multi-athletic event which was celebrated in 1932 in Los Angeles, California, United States. No other cities made a bid to host these Olympics. Held during the worldwide Great Depression, many nations...
in Los Angeles
Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles , with a population at the 2010 United States Census of 3,792,621, is the most populous city in California, USA and the second most populous in the United States, after New York City. It has an area of , and is located in Southern California...
.
Tisdall was raised in Nenagh
Nenagh
Nenagh is the county town of North Tipperary in Ireland. It is the administrative centre of North Tipperary and in 2011 it had a recorded population of 7,995. It is a civil parish in the historical barony of Ormond Lower...
, County Tipperary
County Tipperary
County Tipperary is a county of Ireland. It is located in the province of Munster and is named after the town of Tipperary. The area of the county does not have a single local authority; local government is split between two authorities. In North Tipperary, part of the Mid-West Region, local...
. He had run only six 400 m hurdles when he won the gold medal at the 1932 Olympic Games
1932 Summer Olympics
The 1932 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the X Olympiad, was a major world wide multi-athletic event which was celebrated in 1932 in Los Angeles, California, United States. No other cities made a bid to host these Olympics. Held during the worldwide Great Depression, many nations...
in a world record
World record
A world record is usually the best global performance ever recorded and verified in a specific skill or sport. The book Guinness World Records collates and publishes notable records of all types, from first and best to worst human achievements, to extremes in the natural world and beyond...
time of 51.7 seconds, which was not recognised under the rules of time because he had a hit a hurdle. Later, because of this incident, the rules were changed and the President of the IOC
International Olympic Committee
The International Olympic Committee is an international corporation based in Lausanne, Switzerland, created by Pierre de Coubertin on 23 June 1894 with Demetrios Vikelas as its first president...
, Juan Antonio Samaranch
Juan Antonio Samaranch
Don Juan Antonio Samaranch y Torelló, 1st Marquis of Samaranch, Grandee of Spain , known in Catalan as Joan Antoni Samaranch i Torelló , was a Catalan Spanish sports administrator who served as the seventh President of the International Olympic Committee from 1980 to 2001...
, presented Tisdall with a Waterford crystal
Waterford Crystal
Waterford Crystal is a trademark brand of crystal glassware, previously produced in Waterford, Ireland, though the factory there was shut down after the receivership of Waterford Wedgwood plc in early 2009...
rose bowl with the image of him knocking over the last hurdle etched into the glass.
Early career
Following prep school at Mourne Grange, KilkeelKilkeel
Kilkeel is a small town in County Down, Northern Ireland. It is the main fishing port on the Down coast, and its harbour houses one of the largest fishing fleets in Ireland. It had a population of 6,338 people according to the 2001 Census...
he went on to Shrewsbury
Shrewsbury School
Shrewsbury School is a co-educational independent school for pupils aged 13 to 18, founded by Royal Charter in 1552. The present campus to which the school moved in 1882 is located on the banks of the River Severn in Shrewsbury, Shropshire, England...
, Tisdall won the Public Schools 440 yards (402 m), and at Cambridge
Cambridge
The city of Cambridge is a university town and the administrative centre of the county of Cambridgeshire, England. It lies in East Anglia about north of London. Cambridge is at the heart of the high-technology centre known as Silicon Fen – a play on Silicon Valley and the fens surrounding the...
he won a record four events – 440 yards (402 m) and 120 yards (110 m) hurdles, long jump
Long jump
The long jump is a track and field event in which athletes combine speed, strength, and agility in an attempt to leap as far as possible from a take off point...
and shot put
Shot put
The shot put is a track and field event involving "putting" a heavy metal ball—the shot—as far as possible. It is common to use the term "shot put" to refer to both the shot itself and to the putting action....
– in the annual match against Oxford
Oxford
The city of Oxford is the county town of Oxfordshire, England. The city, made prominent by its medieval university, has a population of just under 165,000, with 153,900 living within the district boundary. It lies about 50 miles north-west of London. The rivers Cherwell and Thames run through...
. This record was only equalled nearly 60 years later. Tisdall had a chance to compete in five events, but selected Ted Cawston to run for him in the 220 yd (201 m) low hurdles so that Cawston could receive his "blue". Cawston justified his selection by winning the event that Tisdall had won the previous two years.
Tisdall set South Africa
South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
n and Canadian
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
records in the 220 yards (201 m) low hurdles in 1929, a year later setting Greek
Greece
Greece , officially the Hellenic Republic , and historically Hellas or the Republic of Greece in English, is a country in southeastern Europe....
records in the same event. While at Cambridge in March 1932, he decided to try for a place in the Irish Olympic squad and after he ran 54.2 seconds (a record) for the Irish Championship 440 yards (402 m) hurdles in June that year, the authorities agreed to let him run in his new event at the Los Angeles
Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles , with a population at the 2010 United States Census of 3,792,621, is the most populous city in California, USA and the second most populous in the United States, after New York City. It has an area of , and is located in Southern California...
Olympics, where he also came eighth in the decathlon
Decathlon
The decathlon is a combined event in athletics consisting of ten track and field events. The word decathlon is of Greek origin . Events are held over two consecutive days and the winners are determined by the combined performance in all. Performance is judged on a points system in each event, not...
.
Olympics
In 1928, IrelandIreland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
, as an independent nation, had won its first Olympic gold medal at Amsterdam
Amsterdam
Amsterdam is the largest city and the capital of the Netherlands. The current position of Amsterdam as capital city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands is governed by the constitution of August 24, 1815 and its successors. Amsterdam has a population of 783,364 within city limits, an urban population...
with Dr Pat O'Callaghan's
Pat O'Callaghan
Dr. Patrick O'Callaghan , was an Irish athlete and Olympic gold medallist. He was the first person from an independent Ireland to win an Olympic medal and is regarded as one of Ireland's greatest-ever athletes.-Early & private life:Pat O'Callaghan was born in knockanroe just outside Kanturk,...
unexpected victory in the hammer
Hammer throw
The modern or Olympic hammer throw is an athletic throwing event where the object is to throw a heavy metal ball attached to a wire and handle. The name "hammer throw" is derived from older competitions where an actual sledge hammer was thrown...
event. At the time he was barely out of the novice class and he had been included in the Irish Team mainly to gain experience of top-class competition. Over the years, he was to develop into one of the world's greatest hammer-throwers and he demonstrated this by winning his second Olympic gold medal at Los Angeles in 1932.
This in fact brought a very special moment in Olympic history for Ireland. Within the short space of an hour Ireland won two Olympic gold medals on Monday, 1 August 1932.
The first was won by Tisdall. His father won the All-Irish Sprint Championship; his mother played hockey
Field hockey
Field Hockey, or Hockey, is a team sport in which a team of players attempts to score goals by hitting, pushing or flicking a ball into an opposing team's goal using sticks...
for Ireland and was a formidable golf
Golf
Golf is a precision club and ball sport, in which competing players use many types of clubs to hit balls into a series of holes on a golf course using the fewest number of strokes....
er. His Olympic victory had the "element of a fairy tale about it", as one commentator put it.
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
n Maharaja
Maharaja
Mahārāja is a Sanskrit title for a "great king" or "high king". The female equivalent title Maharani denotes either the wife of a Maharaja or, in states where that was customary, a woman ruling in her own right. The widow of a Maharaja is known as a Rajamata...
, escorting him around Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
, showing him the cultural and natural sights. To pursue his Olympic dream, Tisdall had to leave this job and live in a disused railway carriage in an orchard, where he trained by running around the rows of trees.
Early in 1932, he wrote to General Eoin O'Duffy
Eoin O'Duffy
Eoin O'Duffy was in succession a Teachta Dála , the Chief of Staff of the Irish Republican Army , the second Commissioner of the Garda Síochána, leader of the Army Comrades Association and then the first leader of Fine Gael , before leading the Irish Brigade to fight for Francisco Franco during...
, then the President of the Olympic Council of Ireland
Olympic Council of Ireland
The Olympic Council of Ireland or OCI is the National Olympic Committee of the Republic of Ireland. Its mission is "to develop and protect the Olympic Movement in Ireland, in accordance with the International Olympic Committee’s guiding document — the Olympic Charter."-History:After the First...
, and asked to be considered for the Irish Olympic Team in the 400 metres hurdles and he also confessed that he had not previously run in the event.
O'Duffy was convinced that Tisdall could achieve a good time and later invited Tisdall to compete in a special Olympic trial at Croke Park
Croke Park
Croke Park in Dublin is the principal stadium and headquarters of the Gaelic Athletic Association , Ireland's biggest sporting organisation...
in Dublin. Tisdall failed to make the qualifying time, but O'Duffy gave him another chance and Tisdall qualified for the Irish Team by winning the National 440 yards (402 m) hurdles title at the Irish Championships, also at Croke Park. At the team training camp, Tisdall discovered that there were no hurdles, so he collected driftwood from the beach and set up some crude hurdles on the greyhound racing track. This took him much of the morning, but just when he was ready to hurdle, someone activated the mechanical rabbit, which sped around the track rail, promptly knocking all the makeshift hurdles over. Finding out that there were hurdles available at a local girls' school, Tisdall cycled there and back each day, to use the hurdles, as the students were on vacation.
After winning his preliminary Olympic heat in Los Angeles, Tisdall equalled the Olympic record of 52.8 seconds in the semi-finals. As this was only the fifth time he competed at this event, Tisdall says: "I said to myself, 'Well, you've run in the semi-finals and equalled the Olympic record; Bob, you're really getting the hang of this!"
Then in the final, despite stumbling at the final hurdle, he won the Olympic gold medal in 51.7 seconds which would have been a world record but for the fact that he had knocked over the last hurdle, and under the laws prevailing at the time, this ruled out recognition of a world record. It is worth noting that four Olympic hurdles champions appeared in that one race.
"At that moment I experienced a strange feeling of loneliness--everything was strangely quiet--I began to wonder if the rest of the field had fallen over" - Bob Tisdall, approaching the final hurdle of the 1932 Olympic Games 400 m hurdles final, five meters ahead of the field.
After his victory, Tisdall was invited to a dinner in Los Angeles where he was seated next to Amelia Earhart
Amelia Earhart
Amelia Mary Earhart was a noted American aviation pioneer and author. Earhart was the first woman to receive the U.S. Distinguished Flying Cross, awarded for becoming the first aviatrix to fly solo across the Atlantic Ocean...
on one side and Douglas Fairbanks, Jr.
Douglas Fairbanks, Jr.
Douglas Elton Fairbanks, Jr. KBE was an American actor and a highly decorated naval officer of World War II.-Early life:...
on the other.
Later life
Later in life, Tisdall lived in South AfricaSouth Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
, where he ran a gymnasium during the day, which he converted to a night club after dark. He grew coffee in Tanzania
Tanzania
The United Republic of Tanzania is a country in East Africa bordered by Kenya and Uganda to the north, Rwanda, Burundi, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo to the west, and Zambia, Malawi, and Mozambique to the south. The country's eastern borders lie on the Indian Ocean.Tanzania is a state...
, but moved to Nambour in 1969 with his wife Peggy, where he farmed fruit crops and cattle. He admitted to running his last race at the age of 80, though he ran in the Sydney Olympic
2000 Summer Olympics
The Sydney 2000 Summer Olympic Games or the Millennium Games/Games of the New Millennium, officially known as the Games of the XXVII Olympiad, were an international multi-sport event which was celebrated between 15 September and 1 October 2000 in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia...
torch relay at age 93. At that point he was the oldest living recipient of an individual track and field Olympic medal and was offered the opportunity to present the medals for the 400m hurdles at the Sydney Olympics but declined as he felt it would detract from the attention due to the winner.
At the age of 96 he fell down a steep set of rock stairs and broke his shoulder, ribs and ruptured his spleen. He never completely recovered and died on 27 July 2004, aged 97. At that time, he was the world's oldest track and field Olympic Gold medalist.
Tisdall did not want a funeral, because "they are altogether too sad." His wake was attended by family and a few friends.
See also
- Olympic champions in the 400 m hurdles