George Golding. Photo: Wikimedia Commons/Public Domain.
Toronto, ON, August 30, 1930
The 100-yard clashes continued in late summer in Toronto. This time, it was George Simpson's turn to defeat Eddie Tolan in both the 100 and 220-yard dashes. The Ohio State University athlete gave the Michigan "Midnight Train" no chances. "Smooth, easy races," commented a Canadian journalist on Simpson's performance in his report.
The games, held in connection with the Canadian National Exhibition, were attended by athletes from the host country, the United States, Britain, and Britain’s former and current dependencies, who had competed in the first British Empire Games (now the Commonwealth Games) a few days earlier. The best result of the exhibition games was posted by Australia’s George Golding, who won the 440 with a world-leading time of 47.9. He timed his form perhaps a little too late, as he had "only" taken bronze at the Empire Games. Golding sealed his career two years later by taking sixth place in the highly competitive 400-meter final at the Los Angeles Olympics.