110 metres Hurdles, Men

Tommy Thomson was a Canadian born in Birch Hills, near Prince Albert, Saskatchewan, but he had grown up in California, near Pasadena and Long Beach. He attended Dartmouth College and trained with the Americans, winning the 1920 AAU Championship, which had served as the U.S. Olympic Trials. Thomson also competed at the 1920 Canadian Trials, making the team in the high hurdles, the 400 hurdles, and the high jump. Thomson was a heavy favorite in this event and won easily, setting a world record in the finals. His time of 14.8 was a world record for the metric distance, but he had recently won the U.S. intercollegiate championships (IC4A) in 14.4 seconds over 120 yards, a far superior performance. At the victory ceremony, the Belgian officials found that they had no Canadian flag to display, so they raised the British flag instead.

Tommy Thomson’s victory marked a dramatic return from a near fatal accident in 1914. When 14 years old, he stepped off a buggy onto a loaded shotgun, which discharged into the left side of his chest. He underwent a four-hour emergency surgery, but survived. After the Olympics, Thomson retired from competition, but he later became well known as a coach, first at Dartmouth, and then at West Virginia and the U.S. Naval Academy.