As Andy Murray bid an emotional goodbye to professional tennis at the Paris Olympics on Thursday, a man who encountered the British icon in 2012 shared a heartwarming anecdote about him. Tom Garry remembered Murray as an athlete who left a positive impression by displaying basic courtesy.
Garry said he was a volunteer at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London. One day during his volunteer gig, his job was to hold the door open for athletes. Garry said that dozens of athletes walked through the door he held open, but only one bothered to acknowledge his existence. That person, of course, was Andy Murray.
“At London2012 I volunteered at the tennis (great fun). One morning, my 'job' was to open a door that players walked through. Maybe 40, 50 players came past. Some were busy chatting, most walked by silently, focused. Only one said "thank you, good morning" - that was Andy Murray,” Garry wrote on the social media platform X.
“A gentleman”
{{/usCountry}}“At London2012 I volunteered at the tennis (great fun). One morning, my 'job' was to open a door that players walked through. Maybe 40, 50 players came past. Some were busy chatting, most walked by silently, focused. Only one said "thank you, good morning" - that was Andy Murray,” Garry wrote on the social media platform X.
“A gentleman”
{{/usCountry}}In the comments section of his post, many people shared stories of their own encounters with the tennis great.
Several people used the word “gentleman” to describe Murray, remembering him as someone who was always polite to the staff and patient with fans.
“I was part of the Village Management Team at 2012, met Andy Murray plenty of times and he always said hello, thank you etc etc,” wrote X user Mark Donovan.
Andy Murray’s storied career came to and end on Thursday as he bowed out of the Paris Olympics 2024. The former world number one and three-time Grand Slam title winner slipped into retirement aged 37 when he and Dan Evans lost in the men's doubles quarter-finals at Roland Garros.
Murray had already announced that the Olympics would be his last event.
"I'm proud of my career, my achievements and what I put into the sport," he said.