JOHNNY HAYES
Johnny Hayes was the winner of the 1908 Olympic Marathon, arguably the single most important race in Olympic history because this race, and the follow-up races resulted in standardizing the distance of the marathon at the 42.195 kilometers distance.
Born in New York City to a family of Irish emigrants (from Nenagh in Co. Tipperary), Johnny Hayes is probably best known for winning the controversial marathon race at the London Olympics. Hayes is one of only three male American athletes to win the Olympic Marathon, (the other two being Thomas Hicks in 1904 and Frank Shorter in 1972).
Hayes started his athletics career with a fifth-place finish at the 1906 Boston Marathon, running for the St. Bartholemew Athletic Club in a time of 2:55:38.[6] He improved on that the following year by finishing third in Boston with a time of 2:30:38 and winning the inaugural Yonkers Marathon.[1][7] In 1908 he finished second, 21 seconds behind Thomas Morrissey in the Boston Marathon with a time of 2:26:34 and thus qualified for the Olympic Games held in London that same year.[8]
The British Olympic Association wanted to start the race in front of Windsor Castle and finish in front of the royal reviewing stand at the White City Stadium. As a result, the distance was 42 km and 195 m. It took until 1921 for the IAAF to codify that distance as the official length of the marathon. Prior to this, races were usually about 25 miles (40 km).
Shore A.C. is pleased to hold Mr. Hayes' collection of memorabilia, which was left to us by his daughter, Doris Hale, to perpetuate her father's memory. Included in the collection are numerous trophies as well as the 1908 Olympic gold medal for the marathon. This represents the first Olympic gold medal to be won at the modern marathon distance of 26 miles, 385 yards.
Mr. Hayes has been inducted into numerous Halls of Fame including USATF's (), the National Distance Running Hall of Fame (2008), etc.
Born in New York City to a family of Irish emigrants (from Nenagh in Co. Tipperary), Johnny Hayes is probably best known for winning the controversial marathon race at the London Olympics. Hayes is one of only three male American athletes to win the Olympic Marathon, (the other two being Thomas Hicks in 1904 and Frank Shorter in 1972).
Hayes started his athletics career with a fifth-place finish at the 1906 Boston Marathon, running for the St. Bartholemew Athletic Club in a time of 2:55:38.[6] He improved on that the following year by finishing third in Boston with a time of 2:30:38 and winning the inaugural Yonkers Marathon.[1][7] In 1908 he finished second, 21 seconds behind Thomas Morrissey in the Boston Marathon with a time of 2:26:34 and thus qualified for the Olympic Games held in London that same year.[8]
The British Olympic Association wanted to start the race in front of Windsor Castle and finish in front of the royal reviewing stand at the White City Stadium. As a result, the distance was 42 km and 195 m. It took until 1921 for the IAAF to codify that distance as the official length of the marathon. Prior to this, races were usually about 25 miles (40 km).
Shore A.C. is pleased to hold Mr. Hayes' collection of memorabilia, which was left to us by his daughter, Doris Hale, to perpetuate her father's memory. Included in the collection are numerous trophies as well as the 1908 Olympic gold medal for the marathon. This represents the first Olympic gold medal to be won at the modern marathon distance of 26 miles, 385 yards.
Mr. Hayes has been inducted into numerous Halls of Fame including USATF's (), the National Distance Running Hall of Fame (2008), etc.
