Athletics: Olympic Walking Champion Thompson Dies

Don Thompson, the 1960 Olympic 50 kilometres walking champion, has died at the age of 73 in Frimley Park Hospital after suffering an aneurysm.

Thompson had prepared for the race in Rome by exercising in his bathroom in Kent which he filled with heaters and boiling kettles.

"There was an electric heater attached to the wall and I thought, 'well, that won't provide enough heat,'" Thompson said last year.

"I had to boost the humidity, too, so I got a Valor stove and put that in the bath. Half an hour was more than enough; I was feeling dizzy by then. It wasn't until several years later that I realised I wasn't feeling dizzy because of the heat; it was carbon monoxide from the stove."

It paid off, however, when he won gold. Wearing sunglasses and a French legionnaire's hat, Thompson was nicknamed "Il Topolino" - "Little Mouse" - by Italian fans.

His funeral is due to take place in Aldershot on October 18.