John Jesus Flanagan
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| Olympic medal record | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Hammer throw | |||
| Gold | 1900 Paris | Men's | |
| Gold | 1904 St. Louis | Men's | |
| Gold | 1908 London | Men's | |
| 56-pound weight throw | |||
| Silver | 1904 St. Louis | Men's | |
John Jesus Flanagan (January 9, 1873 - June 3, 1938) was a three-time Olympic gold medalist in the hammer throw: 1900, 1904, and 1908.
John Jesus Flanagan was born in Kilbreedy, Ireland on January 9, 1873. He immigrated to the United States in 1897. At that time he already held the world record for the hammer throw, and joined the New York Athletic Club.
In 1900 he represented his new country at the Olympic Games in Paris, France. Flanagan, the only non-college man to medal for the Americans, outdistanced countryman T. Truxton Hare by 4.75 meters. Hare and J. H. McCracken, both college football players from Pennsylvania, took silver and bronze.
Flanagan joined the New York City police force in 1903. His first assignment was the Bureau of Licenses, where he had little to do and could take time off to train and compete.
In 1904, Flanagan competed in St. Louis, Missouri Olympic Games. In the hammer throw he set a new world record of 168 feet, 1 inch. He placed second to Etienne the Gendarme in the 56-pound throw event.
In the 1908 Olympics in London, Flanagan broke his own record with a hammer throw of 170 feet, 4.5 inches. The silver that year went to another New York City policeman, the former record holder Matt McGrath. John Flanagan competed in the Tug-of-war as well.
On July 24, 1909, Flanagan became the oldest world record breaker at age 41, when he threw the hammer 56.18 meters.
Flanagan quit the police force in 1910, after his "public office" squad was abolished and he was transferred to the West 68th Street Station and forced to walk a beat along Central Park West. That gave him no time to compete, and kept him up late. He left the U.S. in 1911.
When his Father died in 1924, Flanagan went back to Kilmallack, Limerick, in the Irish Free State. He died there on June 3, 1938.
In the 1928 Amsterdam Olympics, the U.S. lost for the first time in the event - to an Irishman, Dr. Patrick O'Callaghan, who'd been trained by John Flanagan.
[edit] Sources
- Olympic biography and pictures of John Flanagan
- Obituary in New York Times, June 5, 1938
Categories: 1873 births | 1938 deaths | Natives of County Limerick | Hammer throwers | American track and field athletes | Olympic competitors for the United States | Athletes at the 1900 Summer Olympics | Athletes at the 1904 Summer Olympics | Athletes at the 1908 Summer Olympics | Multiple Olympic gold medalists | Sportspeople of multiple sports
