Dan Ahearn (né ''Daniel William Ahearne;'' April 12, 1888 – December 20, 1942) was an

Irish Irish may refer to: Common meanings * Someone or something of, from, or related to: ** Ireland, an island situated off the north-western coast of continental Europe ***Éire, Irish language name for the isle ** Northern Ireland, a constituent unit ...

and later

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

track and field athlete and a member of the

Irish American Athletic Club The Irish American Athletic Club was an amateur athletic organization, based in Queens, New York, at the beginning of the 20th century. Early years Established on January 30, 1898, originally as the "Greater New York Irish Athletic Association", ...

. He competed for the

U.S. Olympic team United States of America (USA) has sent athletes to every celebration of the modern era Olympic Games, except for the 1980 Summer Olympics, during which it led a boycott to protest the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan. American athletes have w ...

in the

1920 Summer Olympics The 1920 Summer Olympics (french: Jeux olympiques d'été de 1920; nl, Olympische Zomerspelen van 1920; german: Olympische Sommerspiele 1920), officially known as the Games of the VII Olympiad (french: Jeux de la VIIe olympiade; nl, Spelen van ...

. He was born in

Athea Athea ( or ''Áth Té'') is a village in west County Limerick, Ireland. Athea has a Roman Catholic church, and is the centre for the parish of Athea, which encompasses several nearby townlands. History The community was dependent on agriculture ...

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

and was the younger brother of

Tim Ahearne Timothy Joseph Ahearne (17 August 1885 – 12 December 1968) was an Irish track and field athlete who competed for the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland in the 1908 Summer Olympics. He was born in Dirreen, Athea, Limerick and was the ...

. Ahearn immigrated with his family to the United States in 1909 where the "e" from Ahearne was dropped. He was not naturalized before 1912 because he was not allowed to compete in the

1912 Summer Olympics The 1912 Summer Olympics ( sv, Olympiska sommarspelen 1912), officially known as the Games of the V Olympiad ( sv, Den V olympiadens spel) and commonly known as Stockholm 1912, were an international multi-sport event held in Stockholm, Sweden, be ...

when he did not hold the U.S. citizenship. He won the National

Amateur Athletic Union The Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) is an amateur sports organization based in the United States. A multi-sport organization, the AAU is dedicated exclusively to the promotion and development of amateur sports and physical fitness programs. It has ...

junior broad jump championship in 1908. In 1909 Ahearn established several new records for the hop, skip, and jump, but the

threw them out on technicalities. In July 1909, Ahearn succeeded in getting his name on the record books by creating a new record for the two hops and jump, doing the distance of 50 feet 2 inches. In 1910, at the games of the "First Regiment Irish Volunteers held at Celtic Park, Long Island City...Dan Ahearn, the jumper of the Winged Fist Club, lowered the world's record (in the triple jump) of 50 feet 1/2 inch, held by D. Shanahan, the Irish Jumper."''New York Times'', August 15, 1910 In 1920 he finished sixth in the Olympic triple jump competition. He was later a policeman in

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

and died there aged 54.

Notes

References

* * * Athlétisme L'Equipe Magazine n°14 January 1970 in France.

External links

* *
Irish America Archives - NYU

Winged Fist Organization
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ahearn, Dan 1888 births 1949 deaths Irish male triple jumpers American male triple jumpers Olympic track and field athletes of the United States Athletes (track and field) at the 1920 Summer Olympics World record setters in athletics (track and field) Sportspeople from County Limerick Irish male long jumpers American male long jumpers Irish emigrants to the United States (before 1923)