Tommy Taylor (athlete)

Tommy Taylor was a British Paralympic athlete who won sixteen medals across five sports, including ten gold medals.[1][2] Taylor was treated by Ludwig Guttmann after an accident in 1956 caused severe paralysis. He went on to compete at numerous Paralympic Games, finding particular success in para table tennis from Rome 1960 to Arnhem 1980.[2] Eight of Taylor's gold medals came in table tennis, along with one in snooker[3] and one in lawn bowls.[1][4]

Tommy Taylor
Sport
Country United Kingdom
SportPara table tennis, lawn bowls, snooker, archery
Medal record
Paralympic Games[1]
Table tennis
Gold medal – first place Rome 1960 Men's Singles A
Gold medal – first place Rome 1960 Men's Doubles A
Gold medal – first place Tokyo 1964 Men's Singles A2
Gold medal – first place Tokyo 1964 Men's Doubles A2
Gold medal – first place Tel Aviv 1968 Men's Doubles A2
Gold medal – first place Toronto 1976 Men's Doubles 1B
Gold medal – first place Arnhem 1980 Men's Singles 1B
Gold medal – first place Arnhem 1980 Men's Teams 1B
Bronze medal – third place Heidelberg 1972 Men's Doubles 1B
Men's Pentathlon Incomplete
Bronze medal – third place Tel Aviv 1968 Men's Pentathlon Incomplete
Archery
Silver medal – second place Heidelberg 1972 Mixed St. Nicholas Round Team Tetraplegic
Snooker
Gold medal – first place Toronto 1976 Men's Tournament A-C
Bronze medal – third place Stoke Mandeville
/ New York 1984 		Men's Tournament Tetraplegic
Lawn bowls
Gold medal – first place Arnhem 1980 Men's Pairs 1A-1B
Bronze medal – third place Arnhem 1980 Men's Singles 1A-1B
Bronze medal – third place Stoke Mandeville
/ New York 1984 		Men's Singles Tetraplegic

Paralympics

Taylor attended the first Paralympic Games in Rome in 1960, competing in the para table tennis. He won gold in both the men's singles A and, with M. Beck, the men's doubles A.[5] His table tennis successes continued at the 1964 Games in Tokyo as he defended the titles in the reclassified A2 doubles, again with Beck, and the A2 singles against his doubles partner in the final.[6] In Tel Aviv in 1968 Taylor lost in the quarterfinals of the singles competition but won the doubles again, this time partnered with Stephen Bradshaw.[7] Also at these Games he entered the men's pentathlon incomplete, finishing in third place and thus securing a bronze medal.[8]

At the 1972 Games in Heidelberg Taylor and Bradshaw lost against German competition in the semi-final, finishing in bronze medal position.[9] Taylor did not compete for the singles title and instead entered the archery competition in a team which included fellow multiple-time Paralympian Jane Blackburn.[10] The partnership of Taylor and Bradshaw returned to winning ways in 1976 in Toronto,[11] while Taylor also entered and won the Men's Tournament A-C snooker.[3]

Taylor won the Men's 1B singles table tennis competition in 1980 at the Games in Arnhem, and still competing alongside Bradshaw, beat Austria by straight sets in the doubles final to secure another gold for their country, Taylor's final Paralympic table tennis medal.[12] Taylor found other Paralympic successes in 1980, winning medals in a fifth sport: lawn bowls. He won a bronze medal in singles competition and, alongside David Cale, won gold in the Men's Pairs 1A-1B.[4] Taylor's final successes at the Paralympics came in 1984 in the Games jointly hosted by Stoke Mandeville and New York. Entered in the Men's Singles Tetraplegic category lawn bowls he won a bronze medal.[13] That was equalled in the Men's Tournament Tetraplegic snooker, Taylor's second medal in the sport.[14]

References
  1. "IPC Historical Results Archive". International Paralympic Committee. Archived from the original on 12 February 2018. Retrieved 13 February 2018.
  2. Sonia van Gilder Cooke (3 September 2012). "The Games Come Home: Tracing the Paralympics' British Roots". Time. Archived from the original on 25 April 2016. Retrieved 6 February 2018.
  3. "Snooker at the Toronto 1976 Paralympic Games". International Paralympic Committee. Archived from the original on 24 February 2018. Retrieved 23 February 2018.
  4. "Lawn Bowls at the Arnhem 1980 Paralympic Games". International Paralympic Committee. Retrieved 23 February 2018.
  5. "Table Tennis at the Rome 1960 Paralympic Games". International Paralympic Committee. Archived from the original on 24 February 2018. Retrieved 23 February 2018.
  6. "Table Tennis at the Tokyo 1964 Paralympic Games". International Paralympic Committee. Archived from the original on 24 February 2018. Retrieved 23 February 2018.
  7. "Table Tennis at the Tel Aviv 1968 Paralympic Games – Men's Doubles A2". International Paralympic Committee. Archived from the original on 24 February 2018. Retrieved 23 February 2018.
  8. "Athletics at the Tel Aviv 1968 Paralympic Games – Men's Pentathlon Incomplete". International Paralympic Committee. Archived from the original on 24 February 2018. Retrieved 23 February 2018.
  9. "Table Tennis at the Heidelberg 1972 Paralympic Games". International Paralympic Committee. Archived from the original on 24 February 2018. Retrieved 23 February 2018.
  10. "Archery at the Heidelberg 1972 Paralympic Games". International Paralympic Committee. Archived from the original on 24 February 2018. Retrieved 23 February 2018.
  11. "Table Tennis at the Toronto 1976 Paralympic Games". International Paralympic Committee. Retrieved 23 February 2018.
  12. "Table Tennis at the Arnhem 1980 Paralympic Games". International Paralympic Committee. Retrieved 23 February 2018.
  13. "Lawn Bowls at the Stoke Mandeville & New York 1984 Paralympic Games". International Paralympic Committee. Retrieved 23 February 2018.
  14. "Snooker at the Stoke Mandeville & New York 1984 Paralympic Games". International Paralympic Committee. Archived from the original on 24 February 2018. Retrieved 23 February 2018.
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