Tom Longboat’s 131st Birthday Celebrates Google Doodle
Tom Longboat’s 131st Birthday
The Search Engine Google is showing Tom Longboat’s 131st Birthday with animated doodle in USA and Canada, a Canadian long-distance runner celebrated as one of the greatest marathoners of all time. He was born on June 4, 1887 Ontario Longboat was a superstar during the pre-First World War craze for long-distance races his First important victory was in the Around the Bay Road Race in Hamilton, Ontario in 1906 which he won by three minutes.
Tom Longboat’s 131st Birthday Celebrates Google Doodle
He first began racing in his early teenage years, inspired by Bill Davis, another First Nations runner who finished second in the Boston Marathon in 1901.He was known as the bulldog of Britannia and was a fighter for the air force at the time.
In 1907 he won the Boston Marathon in a record time of 2:24:24 over the old 24-1/2 mile course, four minutes and 59 seconds faster than any of the previous ten winners of the event. He collapsed, however, in the 1908 Olympic marathon.
Tom Longboat’s legacy lives on as one of Canada’s was one of the most famous athletes in the western world. Not only is today his birthday, it is officially “Tom Longboat Day” in Ontario! Below is another version of today’s Doodle – watch as Tom transitions seamlessly between marathon runner and military man, just as he did during World War.
Tom Longboat Biography
- Born: June 4, 1887, Six Nations of the Grand River
- Died: January 9, 1949, Six Nations of the Grand River
- Height: 5′ 9″
- Weight: 146 lbs
- Event(s): Long-distance
- Club: Brantford
- Nationality :Canadian
Read more about Tom Longboat on wikipedia
Longboat’s chief rival was Alfred Shrubb, whom he raced ten times, winning all the races at 20 miles or more and losing all those at shorter distances according to wikipedia.
Happy, Tom Longboat 131st Birthday
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