Thomas John Henry Richards (15 March 1910 – 19 January 1985) was a Welsh

athlete An athlete is most commonly a person who competes in one or more sports involving physical strength, speed, power, or endurance. Sometimes, the word "athlete" is used to refer specifically to sport of athletics competitors, i.e. including track ...

who specialised mainly in the

marathon The marathon is a long-distance foot race with a distance of kilometres ( 26 mi 385 yd), usually run as a road race, but the distance can be covered on trail routes. The marathon can be completed by running or with a run/walk strategy. There ...

. He competed at the

1948 Summer Olympics The 1948 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XIV Olympiad and officially branded as London 1948, were an international multi-sport event held from 29 July to 14 August 1948 in London, United Kingdom. Following a twelve-year hiatus cau ...

and won a silver medal. He was the first Welsh athlete to win an individual Olympic track and field medal.

Biography

Richards, born in Upper Cwmbran, Wales, moved to London in the 1930s to find work and found it at Tooting Bec Hospital, in South London. He initially ran for Mitcham AC before joining South London Harriers. He finished third behind Squire Yarrow in the marathon event at the 1946 AAA Championships The following two years, Richards finished runner-up to Jack Holden at Loughborough in the 1947 AAA Championships and in London at the 1948 AAA Championships. Richards represented the Great Britain team at the 1948 Olympic Games in London, where he won the Olympic silver medal behind Argentinian

Delfo Cabrera Delfo Cabrera Gómez (April 2, 1919 – August 2, 1981) was an Argentine athlete, winner of the marathon race at the 1948 Summer Olympics in one of the most dramatic finishes in athletics history. Biography Born in Armstrong, Santa Fe Pr ...

in the

. At the 1949 AAA Championships, Richards was once again beaten by his nemesis (but later a great friend) Jack Holden. He represented the Welsh athletics team at the

1950 British Empire Games The 1950 British Empire Games were the fourth staging of what is now called the Commonwealth Games. It was held in Auckland, New Zealand, between 4 and 11 February 1950, after a 12-year gap from the third edition of the games. A documentary fil ...

in Auckland, New Zealand, finishing fifth (the race being won by Holden). Richards never won an AAA title, having to contend with Holden before he finally had a chance to win the 1951 AAA Championships but came up against the new marathon star Jim Peters (who would break the world record four times). He won the Welsh marathon title five times and was inducted into the Welsh Athletics Hall of Fame.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Richards, Tom 1910 births 1985 deaths Sportspeople from Cwmbran Welsh male long-distance runners British male long-distance runners Welsh male marathon runners Olympic athletes for Great Britain Olympic silver medallists for Great Britain Athletes (track and field) at the 1948 Summer Olympics Medalists at the 1948 Summer Olympics Welsh Olympic competitors Commonwealth Games competitors for Wales Athletes (track and field) at the 1950 British Empire Games Olympic silver medalists in athletics (track and field)