Bob Tisdall

Bob Tisdall
Personal information
Born16 May 1907
Nuwara Eliya, Ceylon
Died27 July 2004 (2004-07-28) (aged 97)
Nambour, Queensland, Australia
Medal record
Men's athletics
Representing  Ireland
Gold medal – first place 1932 Los Angeles 400 m hurdles

Robert Morton Newburgh Tisdall (16 May 1907 in Nuwara Eliya, Ceylon – 27 July 2004 in Nambour, Queensland, Australia) was an Irish athlete who won a gold medal in the 400-metre hurdles at the 1932 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles.[1]

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 the time because he had hit a hurdle. Later, because of the notoriety 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.[1] Though the IAAF did not recognise the record at the time, they now recognise the mark, giving Tisdall credit for setting the milestone of being the first man under 52 seconds.[2]

  1. ^ a b "Archived copy" (PDF). www.achilles.org. Archived from the original (PDF) on 31 January 2005. Retrieved 22 May 2022.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  2. ^ "IAAF - the Sport - 400m Hurdles". Archived from the original on 19 August 2012. Retrieved 16 December 2013.