Thomas Curtis

Olympic athlete

1873 – 1944

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Who was Thomas Curtis?

Thomas Pelham "Tom" Curtis 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.

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Born
Jan 9, 1873
Boston
Also known as
  • Thomas Pelham Curtis
  • Кёртис, Томас
Nationality
  • United States of America
Education
  • Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Died
May 23, 1944
Nahant

Submitted
on July 23, 2013

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"Thomas Curtis." Biographies.net. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 28 Mar. 2024. <https://www.biographies.net/people/en/thomas_curtis>.

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