Eddie Tolan
Athletics competitor (1908-1967) · United States · On the map · Athletes · Died at 58
Thomas Edward Tolan, nicknamed the "Midnight Express", was an American track and field athlete who competed in sprints. He set world records in the 100-yard dash and 100 meters event and Olympic records in the 100 meters and 200 meters events.
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Tolan's coach, Steve Farrell, was considered "the greatest professional footracer this country has ever known"
The Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum on the opening day of the 1932 Olympics
Tolan's rival and roommate at the 1932 Olympics, Ralph Metcalfe, later became a U.S. Congressman.
After the 1932 Olympics, Tolan appeared in vaudeville with Bill "Bojangles" Robinson.About this person
He was the first non-Euro-American to receive the title of the "world's fastest human" after winning gold medals in the 100 and 200 meters events at the 1932 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles. In March 1935, Tolan won the 75, 100 and 220-yard events at the World Professional Sprint Championships in Melbourne to become the first man to win both the amateur and professional world sprint championships. In his full career as a sprinter, Tolan won 300 races and lost only 7.
