Tommy Taylor (athlete)
{{short description|British Paralympic athlete}}
{{EngvarB|date=February 2018}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=February 2018}}
{{Infobox sportsperson
| headercolor =
| name = Tommy Taylor
| birth_date =
| height =
| weight =
| country = {{GBR}}
| sport = Para table tennis, lawn bowls, snooker, archery
| club =
| turnedpro =
| coach =
| retired =
| worlds =
| regionals =
| nationals =
| paralympics =
| medaltemplates =
{{MedalCompetition|Paralympic Games}}
{{MedalSport|Table tennis}}
{{MedalGold | Rome 1960 | Men's Singles A}}
{{MedalGold | Rome 1960 | Men's Doubles A}}
{{MedalGold | Tokyo 1964 | Men's Singles A2}}
{{MedalGold | Tokyo 1964 | Men's Doubles A2}}
{{MedalGold | Tel Aviv 1968 | Men's Doubles A2}}
{{MedalGold | Toronto 1976 | Men's Doubles 1B}}
{{MedalGold | Arnhem 1980 | Men's Singles 1B}}
{{MedalGold | Arnhem 1980 | Men's Teams 1B}}
{{MedalBronze | Heidelberg 1972 | Men's Doubles 1B}}
{{MedalSport|Men's Pentathlon Incomplete}}
{{MedalBronze | Tel Aviv 1968 | Men's Pentathlon Incomplete}}
{{MedalSport|Archery}}
{{MedalSilver | Heidelberg 1972 | Mixed St. Nicholas Round Team Tetraplegic}}
{{MedalSport|Snooker}}
{{MedalGold | Toronto 1976 | Men's Tournament A-C}}
{{MedalBronze | Stoke Mandeville
/ New York 1984 | Men's Tournament Tetraplegic}}
{{MedalSport|Lawn bowls}}
{{MedalGold | Arnhem 1980 | Men's Pairs 1A-1B}}
{{MedalBronze | Arnhem 1980 | Men's Singles 1A-1B}}
{{MedalBronze | Stoke Mandeville
/ New York 1984 | Men's Singles Tetraplegic}}
}}
Tommy Taylor was a British Paralympic athlete who won sixteen medals across five sports, including ten gold medals. 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. Eight of Taylor's gold medals came in table tennis, along with one in snooker and one in lawn bowls.
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. 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. 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. Also at these Games he entered the men's pentathlon incomplete, finishing in third place and thus securing a bronze medal.
At the 1972 Games in Heidelberg Taylor and Bradshaw lost against German competition in the semi-final, finishing in bronze medal position. 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. The partnership of Taylor and Bradshaw returned to winning ways in 1976 in Toronto, while Taylor also entered and won the Men's Tournament A-C snooker.
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. 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. 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. That was equalled in the Men's Tournament Tetraplegic snooker, Taylor's second medal in the sport.
References
{{reflist|refs=
{{cite web
|url = https://www.paralympic.org/sdms/hira/web
|title = IPC Historical Results Archive
|publisher = International Paralympic Committee
|accessdate = 13 February 2018
|url-status = live
|archiveurl = https://web.archive.org/web/20180212054105/https://www.paralympic.org/sdms/hira/web
|archivedate = 12 February 2018
|df = dmy-all
}}
{{cite web
|url = https://www.paralympic.org/sdms/hira/web/competition/rome-1960/table-tennis
|title = Table Tennis at the Rome 1960 Paralympic Games
|publisher = International Paralympic Committee
|accessdate = 23 February 2018
|url-status = live
|archiveurl = https://web.archive.org/web/20180224123030/https://www.paralympic.org/sdms/hira/web/competition/rome-1960/table-tennis
|archivedate = 24 February 2018
|df = dmy-all
}}
{{cite web
|url = https://www.paralympic.org/sdms/hira/web/competition/tokyo-1964/table-tennis
|title = Table Tennis at the Tokyo 1964 Paralympic Games
|publisher = International Paralympic Committee
|accessdate = 23 February 2018
|url-status = live
|archiveurl = https://web.archive.org/web/20180224193156/https://www.paralympic.org/sdms/hira/web/competition/tokyo-1964/table-tennis
|archivedate = 24 February 2018
|df = dmy-all
}}
{{cite web
|url = https://www.paralympic.org/sdms/hira/web/results/tel-aviv-1968/table-tennis/mens-doubles-a2
|title = Table Tennis at the Tel Aviv 1968 Paralympic Games – Men's Doubles A2
|publisher = International Paralympic Committee
|accessdate = 23 February 2018
|url-status = live
|archiveurl = https://web.archive.org/web/20180224200212/https://www.paralympic.org/sdms/hira/web/results/tel-aviv-1968/table-tennis/mens-doubles-a2
|archivedate = 24 February 2018
|df = dmy-all
}}
{{cite web
|url = https://www.paralympic.org/sdms/hira/web/results/tel-aviv-1968/athletics/mens-pentathlon-incomplete
|title = Athletics at the Tel Aviv 1968 Paralympic Games – Men's Pentathlon Incomplete
|publisher = International Paralympic Committee
|accessdate = 23 February 2018
|url-status = live
|archiveurl = https://web.archive.org/web/20180224123207/https://www.paralympic.org/sdms/hira/web/results/tel-aviv-1968/athletics/mens-pentathlon-incomplete
|archivedate = 24 February 2018
|df = dmy-all
}}
{{cite web
|url = https://www.paralympic.org/sdms/hira/web/competition/heidelberg-1972/table-tennis
|title = Table Tennis at the Heidelberg 1972 Paralympic Games
|publisher = International Paralympic Committee
|accessdate = 23 February 2018
|url-status = live
|archiveurl = https://web.archive.org/web/20180224200344/https://www.paralympic.org/sdms/hira/web/competition/heidelberg-1972/table-tennis
|archivedate = 24 February 2018
|df = dmy-all
}}
{{cite web
|url = https://www.paralympic.org/sdms/hira/web/competition/heidelberg-1972/archery
|title = Archery at the Heidelberg 1972 Paralympic Games
|publisher = International Paralympic Committee
|accessdate = 23 February 2018
|url-status = live
|archiveurl = https://web.archive.org/web/20180224123218/https://www.paralympic.org/sdms/hira/web/competition/heidelberg-1972/archery
|archivedate = 24 February 2018
|df = dmy-all
}}
{{cite web
|url=https://www.paralympic.org/sdms/hira/web/competition/toronto-1976/table-tennis
|title=Table Tennis at the Toronto 1976 Paralympic Games
|publisher=International Paralympic Committee
|accessdate=23 February 2018
}}
{{cite web
|url = https://www.paralympic.org/sdms/hira/web/competition/toronto-1976/snooker
|title = Snooker at the Toronto 1976 Paralympic Games
|publisher = International Paralympic Committee
|accessdate = 23 February 2018
|url-status = live
|archiveurl = https://web.archive.org/web/20180224200357/https://www.paralympic.org/sdms/hira/web/competition/toronto-1976/snooker
|archivedate = 24 February 2018
|df = dmy-all
}}
{{cite web
|url=https://www.paralympic.org/sdms/hira/web/competition/arnhem-1980/table-tennis
|title=Table Tennis at the Arnhem 1980 Paralympic Games
|publisher=International Paralympic Committee
|accessdate=23 February 2018
}}
{{cite web
|url=https://www.paralympic.org/sdms/hira/web/competition/arnhem-1980/lawn-bowls
|title=Lawn Bowls at the Arnhem 1980 Paralympic Games
|publisher=International Paralympic Committee
|accessdate=23 February 2018
}}
{{cite web
|url=https://www.paralympic.org/sdms/hira/web/competition/stoke-mandeville-_-new-york-1984/lawn-bowls
|title=Lawn Bowls at the Stoke Mandeville & New York 1984 Paralympic Games
|publisher=International Paralympic Committee
|accessdate=23 February 2018
}}
{{cite web
|url = https://www.paralympic.org/sdms/hira/web/competition/stoke-mandeville-_-new-york-1984/snooker
|title = Snooker at the Stoke Mandeville & New York 1984 Paralympic Games
|publisher = International Paralympic Committee
|accessdate = 23 February 2018
|url-status = live
|archiveurl = https://web.archive.org/web/20180224123155/https://www.paralympic.org/sdms/hira/web/competition/stoke-mandeville-_-new-york-1984/snooker
|archivedate = 24 February 2018
|df = dmy-all
}}
{{cite magazine
|author = Sonia van Gilder Cooke
|url = https://olympics.time.com/2012/09/03/the-games-come-home-tracing-the-paralympics-british-roots/
|title = The Games Come Home: Tracing the Paralympics' British Roots
|magazine = Time
|date = 3 September 2012
|access-date = 6 February 2018
|url-status = live
|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20160425140520/http://olympics.time.com/2012/09/03/the-games-come-home-tracing-the-paralympics-british-roots/
|archive-date = 25 April 2016
|df = dmy-all
}}
}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Taylor, Tommy}}
Category:Year of birth missing (living people)
Category:Paralympic gold medalists for Great Britain
Category:Paralympic silver medalists for Great Britain
Category:Paralympic bronze medalists for Great Britain
Category:Place of birth missing (living people)
Category:Medalists at the 1960 Summer Paralympics
Category:Medalists at the 1964 Summer Paralympics
Category:Medalists at the 1968 Summer Paralympics
Category:Medalists at the 1972 Summer Paralympics
Category:Medalists at the 1976 Summer Paralympics
Category:Medalists at the 1980 Summer Paralympics
Category:Medalists at the 1984 Summer Paralympics
Category:Paralympic medalists in snooker
Category:Paralympic medalists in table tennis
Category:Paralympic medalists in archery
Category:Paralympic medalists in lawn bowls
Category:Paralympic medalists in athletics (track and field)
Category:Athletes (track and field) at the 1968 Summer Paralympics
Category:Archers at the 1972 Summer Paralympics
Category:Snooker players at the 1976 Summer Paralympics
Category:Lawn bowls players at the 1980 Summer Paralympics
Category:Lawn bowls players at the 1984 Summer Paralympics
Category:Table tennis players at the 1960 Summer Paralympics
Category:Table tennis players at the 1964 Summer Paralympics
Category:Table tennis players at the 1968 Summer Paralympics
Category:Table tennis players at the 1972 Summer Paralympics
Category:Table tennis players at the 1976 Summer Paralympics
Category:Table tennis players at the 1980 Summer Paralympics