Thomas Edmund Burke (January 15, 1875 – February 14, 1929) was an American sprinter. He was the first Olympic champion in the 100 and 400 meter dash races.[2]
Burke, a student at Boston University School of Law, was a reputed runner in the 400 meters and 440 yards, having won the AAU title (440 yards) in 1895. He had no such reputation for the first event he entered in the inaugural modern Olympic Games in Athens, 1896. With many top sprinters absent, Burke surprisingly won the 100 meters. He was also noted for his "crouch start", which was uncommon at that time but in standard use now. His time in the final was 12.0 seconds. In the preliminary heat, he had an even better time – 11.8 seconds.[4]
At the same Olympics, Burke also won the 400 meters, his top event. His times for that event were 58.4 seconds in the preliminary heats and 54.2 seconds in the final, in both of which Burke finished first.[4]
Later in his career, Burke specialized in the longer distances, winning IC4A titles in the 440 and 880 yards events. In 1897, he was one of the initiators of the annually held Boston Marathon, inspired by the success of the marathon event at the 1896 Olympics.[1][4]
Burke later became a lawyer, but was also an athletics coach and a part-time journalist, writing for The Boston Journal and the Boston Post.[4]
In World War I he was commissioned a first lieutenant and at age 43 was the oldest man in the US military to earn his aviator's wings. Burke died in 1929, aged 54.[3]
thomas, burke, athlete, other, people, named, thomas, burke, thomas, burke, disambiguation, thomas, edmund, burke, january, 1875, february, 1929, american, sprinter, first, olympic, champion, meter, dash, races, thomas, burkethomas, burke, 1918personal, inform. For other people named Thomas Burke see Thomas Burke disambiguation Thomas Edmund Burke January 15 1875 February 14 1929 was an American sprinter He was the first Olympic champion in the 100 and 400 meter dash races 2 Thomas BurkeThomas Burke in 1918Personal informationBornJanuary 15 1875Boston Massachusetts United StatesDiedFebruary 14 1929 aged 54 Boston Massachusetts United StatesAlma materBoston University School of LawHeight6 ft 0 in 183 cm Weight146 lb 66 kg SportSportAthleticsEvent100 800 mClubBoston Athletic AssociationAchievements and titlesPersonal best s 100 m 11 2 1895 200 m 22 6 1897 400 m 48 5 1896 800 m 1 55 9 1897 1 Medal record Representing the United StatesOlympic Games1896 Athens 100 m1896 Athens 400 m Contents 1 Biography 2 References 3 External links 4 Further readingBiography editBurke was born in Massachusetts in 1875 He competed for the Suffolk Athletic Club in South Boston and the Boston Athletic Association BAA 3 Burke a student at Boston University School of Law was a reputed runner in the 400 meters and 440 yards having won the AAU title 440 yards in 1895 He had no such reputation for the first event he entered in the inaugural modern Olympic Games in Athens 1896 With many top sprinters absent Burke surprisingly won the 100 meters He was also noted for his crouch start which was uncommon at that time but in standard use now His time in the final was 12 0 seconds In the preliminary heat he had an even better time 11 8 seconds 4 At the same Olympics Burke also won the 400 meters his top event His times for that event were 58 4 seconds in the preliminary heats and 54 2 seconds in the final in both of which Burke finished first 4 Later in his career Burke specialized in the longer distances winning IC4A titles in the 440 and 880 yards events In 1897 he was one of the initiators of the annually held Boston Marathon inspired by the success of the marathon event at the 1896 Olympics 1 4 Burke later became a lawyer but was also an athletics coach and a part time journalist writing for The Boston Journal and the Boston Post 4 In World War I he was commissioned a first lieutenant and at age 43 was the oldest man in the US military to earn his aviator s wings Burke died in 1929 aged 54 3 References edit a b Thomas Burke trackfield brinkster net Thomas Burke Olympedia Retrieved 20 December 2020 a b Boston Runner Thomas e Burke Wins the 440 and 100 at the First Modern Olympic Games in Athens a b c d Tom Burke sports reference comExternal links editThomas Burke at legacy USATF org nbsp Thomas Burke at www USATF org nbsp Thomas Burke at Olympics com nbsp Thomas Burke at Olympedia nbsp nbsp Wikimedia Commons has media related to Thomas Burke athlete Further reading editWallechinsky David Loucky Jaime 2012 The Complete Book of the Olympics 2012 ed London Aurum Press pp 43 44 77 ISBN 978 1 84513 695 6 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Thomas Burke athlete amp oldid 1189235439, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
