BLACK HISTORY MONTH—One Columbia track and field star has withstood the test of time: Dr. Albert J. Thompson, whose throwing records have remained untouched for over six decades. Columbia's shot put record holder, two-time Ivy League shot put champion, and Ivy League weight throw champion, Thompson became the first Black student-athlete in institution history to win three Ivy League individual championships in school history.
 
A native New Yorker, Thompson arrived in Morningside Heights as a three-time New York City high school throws champion earned while competing at George Washington High School.
 
At Columbia, he continued to add to his trophy collection, but it wasn't until his junior season that Thompson truly began to blossom as a thrower.
 
In 1953, he dominated the Ivy League in throwing events, winning titles in both the indoor and outdoor Heptagonal Championships. Indoors, he won titles in the 35-pound weight throw and the shot put, and continued into the spring, adding an outdoor championship in the shot put. That season, he was one of the best shot putters in the nation, as he was ranked fourth overall for the duration of the season. Thompson followed that performance up with an indoor title in the shot put during his senior year, and a second place finish in the discus at the outdoor championships. In all, he graduated with six top-three finishes in the shot put, discus, and weight throw, in both the Ivy League and the IC4A Championships. Thompson also graduated as the school-recordholder in shot put, a mark that has not been touched since 1954.
 
Upon graduation in 1954, Thomson served as a lieutenant in the Naval Reserves, and continued his throwing career there. He had the opportunity to compete at the 1956 Armed Forces Track & Field Championships, finishing in the top three in both the shot put and discus. With his performance, he qualified for the 1956 United States Olympic Trials.
 
Forever a Lion at heart, Thompson returned to Columbia after his Navy service and enrolled in the School of Dental and Oral Surgery. Since his graduation in 1960, Thompson has remained an active alum, serving as an assistant clinical professor at the Dental School, a member of the Committee on Admissions, chairman of the Committee on Minority Affairs, a member of the Columbia University Alumni Advisory Committee, and president of the dental school's Association of Alumni. 
 


In 2014 he was honored with an Outstanding Community Service Award for his work in the Harlem, Morningside Heights and Washington Heights communities. He was also honored by getting his name on an initiative that offers scholarships and grants to local students, to ensure economic diversity on campus. He was chairman of the Alumni Track Advisory Committee and member of the Executive Committee of the Varsity C Club from 1970-74.
 
In 2010 he was inducted into the Columbia Athletics Hall of Fame.