PASSAIC

Bloomfield track may be named after Tom Fleming

Keldy Ortiz
Staff Writer, @keldyortiz
Montclair Kimberley Academy track coach Tom Fleming in March 2013.

Days after students of legendary marathon coach Tom Fleming walked along a track at Bloomfield’s Brookdale Park, a county official on Monday announced plans to hopefully have his name remembered there permanently.

Essex County Executive Joseph DiVincenzo Jr. proposed an ordinance to change the Oval athletic complex to the “Essex County Tom Fleming Athletic Complex.” Fleming died Wednesday while coaching his Montclair Kimberley Academy team at a meet in Verona. The Bloomfield native and two-time New York City Marathon winner was 65.

"Naming the complex will be a fitting tribute that will keep Tom's legacy alive and hopefully inspire future generations to follow in his footsteps," DiVincenzo said. "Tom reached the pinnacle of being a professional runner. He was an icon in the sport that he loved and helped make long distance running more popular and mainstream. He was a very dear friend who inspired people of all ages with his accomplishments, and enjoyed coaching and mentoring young athletes."

The park got an upgrade in 2015 after a decade of wear and tear.