Tom Patsalis (December 6, 1921 – July 29, 2014) was an American

track and field Track and field (or athletics in British English) is a sport that includes Competition#Sports, athletic contests based on running, jumping, and throwing skills. The name used in North America is derived from where the sport takes place, a ru ...

athlete. He had set 26 World Records in his career, a career that was still active in his late 80s. As of 2014 he is the

World Record A world record is usually the best global and most important performance that is ever recorded and officially verified in a specific skill, sport, or other kind of activity. The book ''Guinness World Records'' and other world records organizatio ...

holder in the M60

Long Jump The long jump is a track and field event in which athletes combine speed, strength and agility in an attempt to leap as far as possible from a takeoff point. Along with the triple jump, the two events that measure jumping for distance as a gr ...

, set in 1982 and thus a record he has held for more than three decades. As of 2014, only one jumper has come within . He is also the American record holder in the Long Jump for the M60 age division, has an as yet unrecognized mark that has been pending since 1977 (though recognized by the California Track News chief statistician at the time, Percy Knox) still 7 inches superior to the listed American record and is the American record holder in the

Triple Jump The triple jump, sometimes referred to as the hop, step and jump or the hop, skip and jump, is a track and field event, similar to long jump. As a group, the two events are referred to as the "horizontal jumps". The competitor runs down the tr ...

in the M60 and M65 age divisions. He was selected to the Masters division of the

National Track and Field Hall of Fame National may refer to: Common uses * Nation or country ** Nationality – a ''national'' is a person who is subject to a nation, regardless of whether the person has full rights as a citizen Places in the United States * National, Maryland, c ...

in 2003. Patsalis was originally from

Detroit, Michigan Detroit ( , ) is the List of municipalities in Michigan, most populous city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is situated on the bank of the Detroit River across from Windsor, Ontario. It had a population of 639,111 at the 2020 United State ...

but, after 50 years of marriage, he retired in

Alhambra, California Alhambra (, , ; from "Alhambra") is a city located in the western San Gabriel Valley region of Los Angeles County, California, United States, approximately east from the downtown Los Angeles civic center. It was incorporated on July 11, 190 ...

. He claimed he had been participating in track and field since high school, 70 years in the sport. In addition to jumping, he also ran sprints and hurdled until he was 70. He was a member of the

University of Southern California The University of Southern California (USC, SC, or Southern Cal) is a Private university, private research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Founded in 1880 by Robert M. Widney, it is the oldest private research university in ...

National Championship A national championship(s) is the top achievement for any sport or competition, contest within a league of a particular nation or nation state. The title is usually awarded by contests, ranking systems, stature, ability, etc. This determines the be ...

track team in 1949, a teammate of Olympian

Mel Patton Melvin Emery Patton (November 16, 1924 – May 9, 2014) was an American sprinter, who set the world record of 9.2 seconds in the 100 yard dash in 1948. He also set a 220 yd world record in 1949 on a straightaway of 20.2, breaking the record hel ...

, graduating from the university in 1950 when he was 28 years old, his education delayed by

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. At USC he studied music, making his career playing in big bands, even leading his own band under the name of Tom Palis. He made Greek music a specialty. He was a pioneer in the early days of

Masters athletics Masters Athletics managed by World Masters Athletics is a class of the sport of athletics (sport), athletics for athletes of 35 years of age and over organized by World Masters Athletics. The events include track and field, road running and cross ...

, winning three events at the second-ever World Association of Veteran Athletes Championships in 1977 in

Gothenburg Gothenburg ( ; ) is the List of urban areas in Sweden by population, second-largest city in Sweden, after the capital Stockholm, and the fifth-largest in the Nordic countries. Situated by the Kattegat on the west coast of Sweden, it is the gub ...

, Sweden. He won at the World Championships many times since. In 1981, just 8 months before his 60th birthday, he long jumped over 20 feet and four months before that same birthday he triple jumped over 40 feet, the oldest person to achieve such milestones. In 1982 he was selected ''California Track and Running News'' "Masters Athlete of the Year" after setting the M60 World Record in both the long jump and triple jump the same day at the Southern California TAC Championships at

California State University, Los Angeles California State University, Los Angeles (Cal State LA) is a public research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. It is part of the California State University system. Cal State LA offers 142 bachelor's degree programs, 122 m ...

. Patsalis remained active until he suffered a stroke in May 2014. He died from complications two months later.

References

External links

Tom Patsalis highlights
{{DEFAULTSORT:Patsalis, Tom 1921 births 2014 deaths USC Thornton School of Music alumni American male long jumpers American people of Greek descent Sportspeople of Greek descent Track and field athletes from Detroit Sportspeople from Alhambra, California American masters athletes World record holders in masters athletics Track and field athletes from California Old age record holders 20th-century American sportsmen