Terry Tobacco

Charles Terence "Terry" Tobacco (born 2 March 1936) was a Canadian Olympic athlete.

Terry Tobacco
Personal information
Birth nameCharles Terence Tobacco
NationalityCanadian
Born (1936-03-02) 2 March 1936
Cumberland, British Columbia
Height1.88 m (6 ft 2 in)
Weight63 kg (139 lb)
Sport
Country Canada
SportAthletics
ClubCumberland
Medal record
Men's Athletics
Representing  Canada
British Empire and Commonwealth Games
1954 Vancouver4×440 yards relay
1954 Vancouver440 yards
1958 Cardiff440 yards

Biography

Originally from the village of Cumberland on Vancouver Island, Tobacco first got noticed at the age of 15 when he won both the 100 and 220 yard races at the Island high school championships.[1]

Taken under the tutelage of Victoria "Flying Y" coach Bruce Humber he was just 17 when made the national team for the 1954 British Empire and Commonwealth Games, held locally in Vancouver. During the games he won two medals, a bronze in the 440 yard race and a silver in the 4x440 yard relay, in which he ran the anchor leg. For these performances he was honoured with British Columbia's "Top Male Athlete" of the year award in 1954.[1]

Tobacco was a member of the Canadian team at the 1956 Summer Olympics in Melbourne.[2] In the 400 metres individual race he won his heat, before being eliminated in the quarter-final stage, but participated in the final of the 400 metres relay. The Canadians finished fifth, behind the United States, Australia, Great Britain and Germany. He ran his semi-final leg in 45.3 seconds.[1]

At the 1958 British Empire and Commonwealth Games in Cardiff he was a bronze medallist again in the men's 440 yards race.[3] He was a member of the relay team that finished fourth in the 4x440.

He also represented Canada at the 1960 Summer Olympics in Rome.[4] Once again he made it through to the second round and he was also part of both the 4x100 and 4x400 relay teams which were semi-finalists.[5]

An NCAA athlete for the University of Washington, Tobacco was a two-time Pacific Coast Conference champion in the 440.[1]

He was inducted into the Greater Victoria Sports Hall of Fame in 2007.[1]

References
  1. "Terry Tobacco (2007)". Greater Victoria Sports Hall of Fame. Retrieved 9 September 2016.
  2. "Canadians Start Home From Games On Sunday". Ottawa Citizen. 6 December 1956. p. 11. Retrieved 10 September 2016.
  3. "Gardner Wins 2nd Medal; Terry Tobacco 3rd In 440". Eugene Register-Guard. 24 July 1958. p. 2D. Retrieved 9 September 2016.
  4. "Canadian Runner Qualifies". Ottawa Citizen. 3 September 1960. p. 1. Retrieved 9 September 2016.
  5. "Athletics at the 1960 Roma Summer Games". Olympics at Sports-Reference.com. Archived from the original on 17 April 2020. Retrieved 9 September 2016.
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