Bob Tisdall

Olympic medal record
Men's athletics
Representing  Ireland
	1932 Los Angeles	400 m hurdles

Robert ("Bob") Morton Newburgh Tisdall (16 May 1907 in Nuwara Eliya, Ceylon now Sri Lanka – 27 July 2004 in Nambour, Queensland, Australia) was an Irish athlete who won a gold medal in the 400 metre hurdles at the 1932 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles.

Tisdall was raised in Nenagh, County Tipperary. He had run only six 400 m hurdles when he won the gold medal at the 1932 Olympic Games in a world record time of 51.7 seconds, which was not recognised under the rules of the time because he had a hit a hurdle. Later, because of the notoriety of this incident, the rules were changed and the President of the IOC, Juan Antonio Samaranch, presented Tisdall with a Waterford crystal rose bowl with the image of him knocking over the last hurdle etched into the glass. Though the IAAF did not recognize the record at the time, they now recognize the mark, giving Tisdall credit for setting the milestone of being the first man under 52 seconds.

Following prep school at Mourne Grange, Kilkeel he went on to Shrewsbury, Tisdall won the Public Schools 440 yards (402 m), and at Cambridge he won a record four events – 440 yards (402 m) and 120 yards (110 m) hurdles, long jump and shot put – in the annual match against Oxford. This record was only equalled nearly 60 years later. Tisdall had a chance to compete in five events, but selected Ted Cawston to run for him in the 220 yd (201 m) low hurdles so that Cawston could receive his "blue". Cawston justified his selection by winning the event that Tisdall had won the previous two years.

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