Robert Morton Newburgh "Bob" Tisdall (May 16, 1907 in Nuwara Eliya, Ceylon now Sri Lanka - July 27, 2004 in Nambour, Queensland, Australia) won a gold medal in the 400 m hurdles at the 1932 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles. May 16 is the 136th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (137th in leap years). ... 1907 was a common year starting on Tuesday (see link for calendar). ... Nuwara Eliya, (pronounced Noo-ray-lee-ya), the City of Light, is a town in Sri Lanka. ... July 27 is the 208th day (209th in leap years) of the year in the Gregorian Calendar, with 157 days remaining. ... 2004 is a leap year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Nambour is a town situated in south east Queensland, Australia, 101 kilometres north of the state capital, Brisbane. ... Motto: Audax at Fidelis (Bold but Faithful) Nickname: Sunshine State/Smart State Other Australian states and territories Capital Brisbane Government Governor Premier Const. ... A hurdling World Champion, Perdita Felicien, Canada. ... The Games of the X Olympiad were held in 1932 in Los Angeles, United States. ... The City of Los Angeles (from Spanish Los Ángeles , meaning the angels), also known as L.A., is the second-largest city in the United States in terms of population, as well as one of the worlds most important economic, cultural, and entertainment centers. ...

Born to an Anglo-Irish family, he 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 Bob with a Waterford crystal rose bowl with the image of him knocking over the last hurdle etched into the glass. Flag of Nenagh Nenagh (An tAonach in Irish) is the largest town in North Tipperary, Ireland, with a population in 2002 of 6,454. ... County Tipperary (Tiobraid Árann in Irish) is a traditional county in the Republic of Ireland, in the province of Munster. ... The Games of the X Olympiad were held in 1932 in Los Angeles, United States. ... A world record is the best performance in a certain discipline, usually a sports event. ... The International Olympic Committee is an organisation based in Lausanne, Switzerland, created by Pierre de Coubertin in 1894 to reinstate the Ancient Olympic Games held in Greece, and organise this sports event every four years. ... Juan Antonio Samaranch, Marquess of Samaranch (born July 17, 1920 in Barcelona) is a Spanish sports official and was president of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) from 1980 to 2001. ... Waterford Crystal is the Trade Mark for a type of crystal glassware produced in Waterford, Ireland, by the Company Waterford Crystal. ...

As a school boy, at a Shrewsbury boarding school, Bob 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. Bob 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 Ted could receive his "blue". Cawston justified his selection by winning the event that Tisdall had won the previous two years. Map sources for Shrewsbury at grid reference SJ4912 Porthill Bridge crossing the Severn at Shrewsbury Shrewsburys Old Market Hall and The Square Market Street, behind the Old Market Hall, with the Music Hall on the left Shrewsbury (pronounced both Shroozbury and Shrowzbury) is the county town of the county... The city of Cambridge is an old English university town and the administrative centre of the county of Cambridgeshire. ... Officials watch as Salim Sdiri of France gives his all at the GE Money Grand Prix in Helsinki, July 2005. ... Shot put The shot put is an athletics (track and field) event involving putting (throwing in a pushing motion) a heavy metal ball, also called the shot, as far as possible. ... Oxford is a city and local government district in Oxfordshire, England, with a population of 134,248 (2001 census). ...

Tisdall set South African 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. The City of Los Angeles (from Spanish Los Ángeles , meaning the angels), also known as L.A., is the second-largest city in the United States in terms of population, as well as one of the worlds most important economic, cultural, and entertainment centers. ... A decathlon is a sportive contest made up of 10 events. ...

In 1928 Ireland, 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. 1928 was a leap year starting on Sunday (link will take you to calendar). ... Amsterdam Location Country The Netherlands Province North Holland Population 739,295 (1 January 2005) Coordinates 4°54E - 52°22N Website www. ... Dr. Patrick Pat OCallaghan (September 15, 1905 - December 1, 1991), was an Irish athlete and Olympic gold medallist. ... The modern or Olympic hammer throw is an athletic throwing event where the object to be thrown is a heavy steel ball attached to a wire rope (max 4 long) with a handle on the end of the rope. ...

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, August 1, 1932. August 1st is the 213th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (214th in leap years), with 152 days remaining. ... 1932 is a leap year starting on a Friday. ...

The first was won by Tisdall. His father won the All-Irish Sprint Championship; his mother played hockey for Ireland and was a formidable golfer. His Olympic victory had the "element of a fairy tale about it", as one commentator put it. A game of field hockey in progress Field hockey is a popular sport for men and women in many countries around the world. ... Golfer teeing off at the start of a hole Golf is an outdoor sport where individual players or teams hit a small ball into a hole using various clubs. ...

Bob had, in the midst of The Depression, what he describes as "the best job in the world", as an aide to a young Indian Maharaja, escorting him around Europe, showing him the cultural and natural sights. To pursue his Olympic dream, Bob 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 Irish Olympic Council, 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. // Definition The word Maharaja (also spelled maharajah) comes from the Sanskrit words maha meaning great and raja meaning king. Its use is primarily for Hindu potentates (ruler or sovereign). ... World map showing location of Europe When considered a continent, Europe is the worlds second smallest continent in terms of area, with an area of 10,600,000 km² (4,140,625 square miles), making it larger than Australia only. ... General Eoin ODuffy (20 October 1892 - 30 November 1944), was the Commissioner of the Garda Síochána, leader of the quasi-fascist Blueshirts and the first (extra-parliamentary) leader of Fine Gael (1933-1934). ...

O'Duffy was convinced that Bob 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 Bob 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 traing camp, Bob 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, Bob cycled there and back each day, to use the hurdles, as the students were on vacation. The traditional Gaelic Athletic Association logo is still placed in the center circle of the playing field Croke Park (Irish: Páirc an Chrócaigh) in Dublin, Ireland is the principal stadium and headquarters of the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA), Irelands biggest sporting organisation. ... Dublin (Irish: Baile Átha Cliath),is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Ireland, located near the midpoint of Irelands east coast, at the mouth of the River Liffey and at the centre of the Dublin region. ...

After winning his preliminary Olympic heat in Los Angeles, Bob Tisdall equalled the Olympic record of 52.8 seconds in the semi-finals. As this was the 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, Bob was invited to a dinner in L.A. where he was seated next to Amelia Earhart on one side and Douglas Fairbanks, Jr. on the other. Amelia Earhart Amelia Mary Earhart (born 24 July 1897, Atchison, Kansas - missing from 2 July 1937, western Pacific ocean), daughter of Edwin and Amy Earhart, was an American aviator and noted early female pilot who mysteriously disappeared over the Pacific Ocean during a circumnavigational flight in 1937. ... Douglas Fairbanks, Jr. ...

Later in life Bob lived in South Africa, 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. 2000 Summer Olympics - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia /**/ @import /skins-1. ...

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 the 27th of July, 2004, aged 97. At that time, he was the worlds 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