ATHLETES DURING GREAT DEPRESSION AND THEIR STORIES.

                   EDDIE TOLAN (RUNNER) 

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• Born in September 29 1908 in Denver, Colorado, United States. 

•Died at the age of 58 in 30th January 1967 in Detroit, Michigan, United States. 

•Achievements : First Negro African American to win 100m and 200m race gold medal in 1932 Olympics. 

         Eddie tolan was a football🏈 player but he could not continue with it as he had a  knee ligament injury which ended his hopes, then he shifted himself in sprinting. During the time of great economic depression thou people were facing recession but they were focusing more on outdoor games to return the pride to their nation. 

            At the Michigan University Tolan was guided by 2 coaches Steve Farell and Charles B Hoyt , and hence Tolan broke the 10 record and tied the world record of 9.5 sec in 100 yard dash, his main attractions were his race, his eyeglasses, his habbit of chewing gum to accelerate his speed in race, he was 5feet 6inches in height 59kgs in weight during 1930's and was known as the "midnight runner". In 1931 he again broke the record of 100m running by 10.5 seconds. 

      Tolan completed his graduation from Michigan University then he went to west Virginia State college where he did his graduation by teaching and coaching in negro institutions. The turning point of Tolan was the 1932 Olympics where he was at 2nd position during the trials at Stanford University runner up against Ralph Metcalfe who won both 100 and 200 meter finals, but in the final Olympic race both Tolan and Metcalfe made attraction in the press of U. S which were a bit racist, in 100m race Tolan and Metcalfe were very close to finish but by seeing many clips of film Tolan won race with a world record of 10.3 seconds and on 4th day he went on winning the 200m race with a record of 21.2 seconds becoming the first African American to win the tittle of fastest man in the world twice. After the race they both were interviewed by reporters in which Tolan viwed his both gold medals to his mother. 

• Bad times:

Back in Detroit, Mayor Frank Murphy appointed a reception committee to meet Tolan at the train station, and Michigan Governor Wilber M. Brucker declared September 6, 1932 as "Eddie Tolan Day" throughout the state. But when Tolan was receiving a welcome from the mayor and his committee his brother was doing a job of collecting waste paper in the garden before the railway station, his mother and father were jobless for many months, then he realized that he too was jobless, in 1933 he got a job as a filling clerk in the county office. He wanted to become a physician but was not able to get a job he tried his search on many streets and even appeared briefly on vaudevellie in 1932 with Bill "Bojangles" Robinson, Tolan had made records in running forward and Robinson made records running backwards , in April 1934, Tolan's bad luck continued as an automobile he was driving struck and seriously injured an 80-year-old pedestrian. In 1934 Tolan took a leave from his job as a assistant county registrar of deeds to compete in Australia's sprint program a series of five professional races, including the Stawell Gift handicap. In this event Tolan made a record of 21.5 seconds in the 220-yard dash on a full curve track and 7.5 seconds for the 75-yard dash. He won the 75, 100, and 220-yard events at the World Professional Sprint Championships in March 1935 in Melbourne, and became the first man to win both the amateur and professional world sprint championships. In his lifetime Tolan won 300 races and had lost only 7 Tolan mostly focused on start fast, run easily, stay in your lane and finish strong. After returning from Australia he did many jobs, he taught physical and health education in Irving elementary school on Detroit west side.

• Death :

Tolan had a kidney failure so he had undergo dialysis treatment for rest of his life , as he was single he was survived by his sister June Brown and Martha Lombard and brother Hart. H. Tolan, Tolan was also a cousin of major league Baseball player Bobby Talon. Eddie Tolan is interred at United Memorial Gardens in Plymouth, Michigan.

• Achievements :

- Inducted in Michigan sports Hall of Fame in 1958.

- Inducted in University of Michigan Athletic Hall of Honor 1980.

- He was a member of Alpha Phi Alpha fraternity. 

- Inducted in National Track and Field Hall of Fame in 1982.

• Inspiration:

Eddie tolan was born in the age where African Americans were treated as if they were of other caste or were a threat to the society. He was living in the age of great economic depression in America, but fortunately during those days people used to get more involved in sports, as he was a black man, he had faced many challenges in his life, so he trained hard to get sharp in his running skills, we all should take some inspiration regarding his focused nature in the tough and important situations in life.