Thomas Pelham "Tom" Curtis (September 7, 1870 - May 23, 1944) was an American athlete and the winner of the 110 metres hurdles at the 1896 Summer Olympics.
Curtis, a Massachusetts Institute of Technology student of electrical engineering, travelled to Athens as a member of the Boston Athletic Association.
At the first day of the first modern Olympic Games, Curtis advanced to the 100 metres final by winning his heat with a time of 12.2 seconds. He later withdrew from that race to prepare for the 110 metres hurdles final, which was his main event at the Olympics. That competition turned into a personal race between Curtis and Grantley Goulding from Great Britain after Frantz Reichel and William Welles Hoyt withdrew. At the start Curtis gained a small lead, but Goulding reached him at the first hurdle. At the last hurdle, Goulding was leading, but Curtis managed to throw himself to the line first. The officials stated that Curtis had won by 5 centimetres. Both athletes had a time of 17.6 seconds.
As an eager amateur photographer, Curtis made many valuable pictures in Athens. He served as captain in the Massachusetts National Guard and was a military aide to Massachusetts Governor Calvin Coolidge in World War I. He also participated in the development of the toaster and published several humorous memories about the first modern Olympic Games. The most famous of them is High Hurdles and White Gloves (1932).
Reference
Some of Curtis' memories about the first modern Olympic Games
v • d • e
Olympic Champions in Men's 110 m Hurdles
1896: Thomas Curtis • 1900: Alvin Kraenzlein • 1904: Frederick Schule • 1906: Robert Leavitt • 1908: Forrest Smithson • 1912: Frederick Kelly • 1920: Earl Thomson • 1924: Daniel Kinsey • 1928: Sydney Atkinson • 1932: George Saling • 1936: Forrest Towns • 1948: William Porter • 1952: Harrison Dillard • 1956: Lee Calhoun • 1960: Lee Calhoun • 1964: Hayes Jones • 1968: Willie Davenport • 1972: Rod Milburn • 1976: Guy Drut • 1980: Thomas Munkelt • 1984: Roger Kingdom • 1988: Roger Kingdom • 1992: Mark McKoy • 1996: Allen Johnson • 2000: Anier García • 2004: Liu Xiang • 2008: Dayron Robles
Persondata
NAME
Curtis, Thomas Pelham
ALTERNATIVE NAMES
Curtis, Tom
SHORT DESCRIPTION
American athlete and the winner of the 110 metres hurdles at the 1896 Summer Olympics
DATE OF BIRTH
September 7, 1870
PLACE OF BIRTH
DATE OF DEATH
May 23, 1944
PLACE OF DEATH
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Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_Curtis"
Categories: 1870 births | 1944 deaths | Athletes at the 1896 Summer Olympics | American track and field athletes | Massachusetts Institute of Technology alumni | Olympic gold medalists for the United States | Olympic athletes of the United States
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This page was last modified on 24 September 2008, at 09:23.
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