Researching Don Thompson

One of Thompson's best-known musical associations was his membership in Paul Desmond's "Toronto Quartet" from 1974 to 1976, along with Ed Bickert and Jerry Fuller. Thompson also worked for several years in the 1970s and 1980s with guitarist Jim Hall. Thompson was also a member of Rob McConnell's Boss Brass for more than two decades starting in the late 1960s.

From 2005 to the present, Thompson arranged and performed on all of singer Diana Panton's albums. Thompson first met Panton in the 1990s when he heard her sing as a high-school student, and he encouraged Panton to study at the Banff Centre, where he was one of her faculty instructors.

Thompson has been a fixture on the Toronto jazz scene since the late 1960s when he moved there from British Columbia. As a backing musician in studio and live performance, Thompson has appeared on more than 200 records, including releases by George Shearing, Buddy Tate, Jay McShann, Junior Mance, John Handy, Ed Bickert, John Abercrombie, Moe Koffman, Anne Murray, Mel Tormé, Ruby Braff, Lenny Breau, and others.

Thompson was born in Hillingdon, London and taught maths at Southland's comprehensive school, New Romney, from the mid 1970s. A small man, only 5'5" tall, he was originally a runner, but an injury to his Achilles' tendon forced him to take up race walking instead. He came second in the 52½ miles London to Brighton road race in 1954, and then won the event in each of the following eight years. He raced in the 50 km walk in the 1956 Summer Olympics in Melbourne, Australia, but withdrew dehydrated after 45 km while in fifth place.

He practised to compete at the Olympic Games in Rome in 1960 by exercising in a steam-filled bathroom at home, with the heating turned up and wearing a heavy tracksuit. After exercising for about half an hour, he would feel faint. At the time, he attributed his light-headedness to the effects of heat and humidity, but later realised that it was carbon monoxide fumes from the paraffin heater. His mother made him a hat like a képi to keep the sun off his head and neck during the race; together with his sunglasses, he was nicknamed "Il Topolino" (Italian: "Mickey Mouse", literally "little mouse"). In the 50 km race, staged at temperatures of up to 87 °F, the front two competitors were disqualified, and Thompson beat John Ljunggren of Sweden by 17 seconds to win the gold medal in 4 hours 25 minutes 30 seconds. The only other British competitor to win a gold medal at the 1960 Summer Olympics was Anita Lonsbrough, in the 200 m breaststroke. He was voted Sportsman of the Year in 1960 by the Sports Writers' Association.

He won a bronze medal at the European Championships in 1962, and was tenth at the 1964 Summer Olympics, both in the 50 km walk. He continued racing for another 40 years, until the early 1990s and completing more than 150 marathons and a 100 mile racewalk in 1978. He habitually woke at 4am to run 8 miles each morning. In 1983, he fell and broke his collarbone during a marathon walk in Thanet; undeterred, he completed the race before seeking treatment. He represented Britain in a race in France in 1991, aged 58 years and 89 days, becoming the oldest person to represent Britain in an international athletics event.

Outside athletics, he worked as an insurance clerk, a gardener and as a teacher (at Southland's School, New Romney). He was awarded the MBE in 1970. He collapsed at home and died at Frimley Park Hospital after suffering a brain aneurysm. He married in 1967, and was survived by his wife, and their son and daughter.