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Tom Courtney

Full name: Thomas William "Tom" Courtney
Gender: Male
Height: 6'2" (188 cm)
Weight: 179 lbs (81 kg)
Born: August 17, 1933 in Newark, New Jersey, United States
Affiliations: US Air Force, (USA)
Country: USA United States
Sport: Athletics

Medals: 2 Gold (2 Total)

Biography

Tom Courtney was a worthy successor to Mal Whitfield for both speed and consistency He won the NCAA 880y in 1955 and the AAU in 1957 and 1958. Courtney was also the top 400m man in the world in 1956 and won the AAU in 45.6. In 1957 he set a new world 880y record of 1:46.8 and the following year he came within one tenth of a second of the world 800m record. He won the 1956 Final Trials in a new American record of 1:46.4 and then went on to set a new Olympic record of 1:47.7 in winning the Melbourne final. Courtney won a second Olympic gold with a 45.7 anchor leg in the 1,600 meter relay He was also a notable indoor performer and in 1957 he tied Whitfield’s world record of 1:09.5 for 600y and set three world records for the 880y on a flat indoor track.

Personal Bests: 400 – 45.8 (1956); 800 – 1:45.8 (1957).

Results

Glossary ▪ CSV ▪ PRE
Games Age City Sport Event Team NOC Rank Medal
1956 Summer 23 Melbourne Athletics Men's 800 metres United States USA 1 Gold OR
1956 Summer 23 Melbourne Athletics Men's 4 × 400 metres Relay United States USA 1 Gold

Men's 800 metres

Glossary ▪ CSV ▪ PRE ▪ Event History ▪ Mouseover for column descriptions
Games Age City Sport Country Phase Unit Rank T(H) T(A)
1956 Summer 23 Melbourne Athletics United States Final 1 OR 1:47.7 1:47.75
1956 Summer 23 Melbourne Athletics United States Semi-Finals Heat One 1 QU 1:53.6 1:53.62
1956 Summer 23 Melbourne Athletics United States Round One Heat Two 1 QU 1:52.7 1:52.83

Men's 4 × 400 metres Relay

Glossary ▪ CSV ▪ PRE ▪ Event History ▪ Mouseover for column descriptions
Games Age City Sport Team NOC Phase Unit Rank T(H) T(A) ST
1956 Summer 23 Melbourne Athletics United States USA Final 1 3:04.8 3:04.81 45,8
1956 Summer 23 Melbourne Athletics United States USA Round One Heat One 2 QU 3:10.6 3:10.60