Delaney, Ron

When Ron was 6 years old, his family moved to Dublin , where he started jogging at the local Crusaders Athletics Club led by Jack Sweeney. Then Delaney studied at American University of Villanova in the suburbs of Philadelphia , where he trained under the guidance of renowned coach Jumbo Elliott , who raised several Olympic champions. The first success of young Ron was getting into the finals of the 1954 European Championships in Bern at a distance of 800 m.

In 1956, 21-year-old Ron selected for the Olympic Games in Melbourne , where he performed at a distance of 1,500 m. In the semifinal race, Delaney finished third and reached the final, where Australian John Landy , the current 1-mile world record holder was considered the favorite (1609 m ) Ron held on to the Australian until the last lap, after which he accelerated to the finish line and pulled out a victory with a new Olympic record - 3 minutes 41.2 seconds. The second was the German Klaus Richtzenhayn , 0.8 seconds behind, the same number as John Landy, who took third place, lost to Ron. After the victory, Ron sent a postcard to his first coach, Jack Sweeney, with the words "We did it!"

Delaney's Olympic gold was the first for Ireland since 1932 , when Bob Tisdall (400 meters w / w) and Pat O'Callaghan (hammer throwing) became Olympic champions in Los Angeles . The Irish had to wait another 36 years for the next gold, when the boxer Michael Carratt won him at the 1992 Olympics in Barcelona . In athletics, the victory of Delaney remains the last for Ireland for more than 50 years.

Among Delaney’s other achievements, bronze was won at the 1958 European Championships in Stockholm at a distance of 1,500 m, 4 victories at the Championships of Ireland, a victory at the 1961 Summer Universiade at a distance of 800 m. In 1960, Delaney took part in the Olympic Games in Rome at a distance of 800 m but failed to break into the final race. Delaney continued his performances in North America, winning several times at major student competitions . Ron also performed successfully on the premises, setting several world records in the 1-mile race.

Later, Delaney was engaged in an advisory business in the field of marketing .

In 2006, Dublin University College awarded Delaney an honorary doctorate in law ^[3] .

• Ireland at the 1956 Summer Olympics

• Ron Delaney - Olympic stats on Sports-Reference.com
• A New Irish Hero Goes Home - Sports Illustrated , January 21, 1957
• Ronnie Delaney on the Irish Athletics Federation website