It is with great regret we have to announce the death of one of the most talented Sussex athletes, Andy Todd at 74. He had a three way heart by-pass and had double by-pass last week but it was too late.
An East Grinstead schoolboy and member of the Brighton & Hove club he was a double English Schools champion and went to the to the Mexico Olympics as a member of the 4 x 400m relay team. Such was his talent he was also a reserve for the 400 metre hurdles, the race were David Hemery smashed the World record and John Sherwood taking the bronze medal. Unfortunately, he did not get a run in the Olympics
With several Sussex and Sussex schools title under his belt, he won his English Schools titles in 1965 in the high hurdles and 1967 he took the senior 440 yards flat title.
He became the first ever Sussex athlete to win a medal at the European Games when he won the bronze medal in the 1969 400m in 50.38s in the same year he became the first Sussex athlete to crack 50.0s with 49.9s, a Sussex record and a time that saw him place seventh on the World rankings in that year. That stood for nearly 50 years and is still 41st on the British All time lasts. Sebastian Rodger clocked 49.19s in 2013 and is the only other Sussex athlete to break 50.0s for the 400m hurdles.
A tall and elegant athlete he won numerous Sussex, area and National titles as he moved through the age group, frequently getting the better of to be Commonwealth and European Gold medallist Alan Pascoe and was a regular member of the Brighton & Hove Club League teams including the formation Division one British League side.
Groin problems led to his eventual early retirement from the spot and his work, in Banking, took him to settle in Edinburgh for many years but in later years he had moved to Chester.. He leaves a wife and three grown up children.
We send our sympathy to his wife Linda and children Charlotte and Anna and their grandchildren and Monty.