OLYMPIC ODDBALLS

0 Comments | Herald, The; Glasgow (UK), Aug 13, 2008 | by Doug Gillon

DON THOMPSON was Britain’s gold medal hero of the 50k walk in Rome 48 years ago. Hero? He risked his life every time he trained in his own bathroom. It was only years later that he discovered his homemade acclimatisation chamber was pumping carbon monoxide into the air.

The 5ft 5in fire insurance clerk from Cranfield in Middlesex, whom the Italians christened “Il Topolino” – Little Mouse – had the determined heart of a lion. He wore clip-on sunglasses and a hat to which his mother had sewn a handkerchief, which hung down the back. He looked like a French legionnaire.

Thompson had suffered in scorching conditions at the 1956 Olympics in Melbourne
clip on sunglasses