Tommy Green

Who was Tommy Green?

Thomas William Green was a British racewalker who won a gold medal in the men's 50km walk at the 1932 Summer Olympics. The son of a police constable, Green could not walk until the age of five, owing to his affliction with rickets. He lied about his age and joined the British Army in 1906 and served during World War I, where he was wounded on three occasions and gassed while fighting in France. Returning to Britain, he eventually settled in Eastleigh where he worked at a railway works before being encouraged by a blind friend to take up racewalking.

Green's career began to rise during the late 1920s and reached its peak during the 1930s, when he became the first British national and Olympic 50 km racewalking champion. He continued his success through the mid-1930s, but placed fourth at the 1936 National Championships and was thus unable to compete in that year's Summer Olympic Games. He retired from competitive athletics and had a career as a publican prior to spending his retirement as a sports promoter and administrator. Tommy Green Walk in Eastleigh is named in his honour.