Tom Courtney

American condolences.

I read his obituary in the New York Times. Being a sprinter myself in college, I was so impressed by his last-minute victory at the Melbourne Olympics. What impressed me more was how he got the crucial tip of running downhill to increase his pace by reading the training notebooks of the great German sprinter of the time (who had then died in World War 2.) Serendipity!

Tom Courtney was a competitor, a NYAC teammate, a roommate when we traveled together to distant meets, and always an encouraging hero to me. In 1956, after he had won the USA Olympic trials, he sent me good wishes as I attempted to qualify on the Canadian team. I failed in that attempt but rejoiced in his dramatic Olympic victory in Melbourne. We raced as NYAC teammates in our post-collegiate career, and my esteem for him increased on every occasion we met. My entire family knows how deeply I respected Tom Courtney and how deeply I feel sorrow for his loving family. D. Bruce Lockerbie, NYU 1956, NYAC since 1952