View source for Thomas Burke (sprinter)

{{Short description|American sprinter (1875–1929)}}
{{Infobox sportsperson
| name = 
| image = Thomas Burke 1918.jpg
| caption = Burke in 1918
| birth_name = Thomas Edmund Burke
| birth_date = January 15, 1875
| birth_place = [[Boston, Massachusetts]], United States
| death_date = February 14, 1929 (aged 54)
| death_place = Boston, Massachusetts, United States
| height = 6 ft 0 in
| weight = 146 lb
| sport = Athletics
| event = 100-800 m
| club = Boston Athletic Association
| pb = 100 m – 11.2 (1895)<br>200 m – 22.6 (1897)<br>400 m – 48.5 (1896)<br>800 m – 1:55.9 (1897)<ref name=r4/>
| alma_mater = [[Boston University School of Law]]
| show-medals = yes
| medaltemplates = {{Medal|Country|the {{USA}}}}
{{Medal|Competition | [[Olympic Games]]}}
{{Medal|Gold | [[1896 Summer Olympics|1896 Athens]] | [[Athletics at the 1896 Summer Olympics – Men's 100 metres|100 m]]}}
{{Medal|Gold | 1896 Athens | [[Athletics at the 1896 Summer Olympics – Men's 400 metres|400 m]]}}
}}

'''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 sprint races.<!-- PLEASE don't write that he was first Olympic champion. [[James Brendan Connolly]] was the first --><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.olympedia.org/athletes/78175 |title=Thomas Burke |work=Olympedia |access-date=20 December 2020}}</ref>

==Biography==
Burke was born in [[Massachusetts]] in 1875. He competed for the Suffolk Athletic Club in South Boston and the [[Boston Athletic Association]] (BAA).<ref name="irishboston.blogspot.com">{{Cite web|url=https://irishboston.blogspot.com/2011/04/boston-runner-thomas-e-burke-wins-440.html|title = Boston Runner Thomas e. Burke Wins the 440 and 100 at the First Modern Olympic Games in Athens}}</ref>

Burke, a student at [[Boston University School of Law]], was a reputed runner in the 400 meters and 440 yards, having won the [[Amateur Athletic Union|AAU]] title (440 yards) in 1895. He had no such reputation for the first event he entered in the [[1896 Summer Olympics|inaugural modern Olympic Games]] in [[Athens]], 1896. With many top sprinters absent, Burke surprisingly won the 100 meters. He was also noted for his "[[Sprint (running)|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.<ref name=r1/>

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.<ref name=r1/>

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 (sport)|marathon]] event at the 1896 Olympics.<ref name=r4/><ref name=r1/>

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]]''.<ref name=r1/>

During [[World War I]], at an age when most soldiers had long since retired from active duty, Burke earned his aviator’s wings at 43, making him the oldest man in the U.S. military to achieve this distinction. Burke died in 1929, aged 54.<ref name="irishboston.blogspot.com"/>

==References==
{{reflist|refs=
<ref name=r1>[https://web.archive.org/web/20200417094558/https://www.sports-reference.com/olympics/athletes/bu/tom-burke-1.html Tom Burke]. sports-reference.com</ref>
<ref name=r4>[http://trackfield.brinkster.net/Profile.asp?ID=912&Gender=M Thomas Burke]. trackfield.brinkster.net</ref>
}}

==External links==
*{{sports links}}
{{Commons category}}

==Further reading==
*{{cite book |last1=Wallechinsky |first1=David |author-link1=David Wallechinsky |last2=Loucky |first2=Jaime |year=2012 |title=The Complete Book of the Olympics |edition=2012 |pages=43–44, 77 |publisher=[[Aurum Press]] |location=[[London]] |isbn=978-1-84513-695-6}}

{{Footer Olympic Champions 100 m Men}}
{{Footer Olympic Champions 400 m Men}}
{{Footer US NC 400m Men}}
{{Footer US NC 800m Men}}

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Burke, Thomas}}
[[Category:1875 births]]
[[Category:1929 deaths]]
[[Category:Athletes (track and field) at the 1896 Summer Olympics]]
[[Category:American men sprinters]]
[[Category:Olympic gold medalists for the United States in track and field]]
[[Category:Boston University School of Law alumni]]
[[Category:Medalists at the 1896 Summer Olympics]]
[[Category:Track and field athletes from Boston]]
[[Category:The Boston Post people]]
[[Category:19th-century American sportsmen]]