John O'Neil Farrell (August 28, 1906 – June 20, 1994) was an American

speed skater Speed skating is a competitive form of ice skating in which the competitors race each other in travelling a certain distance on skates. Types of speed skating are long track speed skating, short track speed skating, and marathon speed skating. ...

and speed skating coach. Farrell participated in the

1928 Winter Olympics The 1928 Winter Olympics, officially known as the II Olympic Winter Games (french: IIes Jeux olympiques d'hiver; german: II. Olympische Winterspiele; it, II Giochi olimpici invernali; rm, II Gieus olimpics d'enviern) and commonly known as St. M ...

St. Moritz St. Moritz (also german: Sankt Moritz, rm, , it, San Maurizio, french: Saint-Moritz) is a high Alpine resort town in the Engadine in Switzerland, at an elevation of about above sea level. It is Upper Engadine's major town and a municipality in ...

. On the 500 m, he skated in the first pair and promptly set a new Olympic record with a time of 43.6 seconds, breaking

Charles Jewtraw Charles Jewtraw (May 5, 1900 – January 26, 1996) was an American speed skater, who won the first gold medal (in the 500 m) at the first Winter Olympics in 1924; he finished eighth in the 1500 m and 13th in the 5000 m events. Jewtraw won natio ...

's old record of 44.0 seconds. The record would not stand, though, because in the next pair,

Clas Thunberg Arnold Clas ("Classe") Robert Thunberg (5 April 1893 – 28 April 1973) was a Finnish speed skater who won five Olympic gold medals – three at the inaugural Winter Olympics held in Chamonix in 1924 (along with a silver and a bronze medal) and t ...

skated 43.4 seconds, and in the eighth pair,

Bernt Evensen Bernt Sverre Evensen (18 April 1905 – 24 August 1979) was a Norwegian speed skater and racing cyclist who competed in skating at the 1928 and 1932 Winter Olympics. In 1928 he became the first Norwegian skater to win an Olympic gold medal by w ...

also skated 43.4. But since nobody else besides those two skated faster than 43.6, Farrell won the bronze medal.John O'Neil Farrell
. sports-reference.com At the

1932 Winter Olympics The 1932 Winter Olympics, officially known as the III Olympic Winter Games and commonly known as Lake Placid 1932, were a winter multi-sport event in the United States, held in Lake Placid, New York, United States. The games opened on February ...

of Lake Placid, the speed skating events were skated in ''pack-style'' format (having all competitors skate at the same time) for the only time in Olympic history. Farrell qualified for the final in his heat, but finished in sixth (and last) place in the final. Two weeks later, he finished fourteenth at the 1932 World Allround Championships, also in Lake Placid. At the

1936 Winter Olympics The 1936 Winter Olympics, officially known as the IV Olympic Winter Games (german: IV. Olympische Winterspiele) and commonly known as Garmisch-Partenkirchen 1936 ( bar, Garmasch-Partakurch 1936), were a winter multi-sport event held from 6 to 16 ...

Garmisch-Partenkirchen Garmisch-Partenkirchen (; Bavarian: ''Garmasch-Partakurch''), nicknamed Ga-Pa, is an Alpine ski town in Bavaria, southern Germany. It is the seat of government of the district of Garmisch-Partenkirchen (abbreviated ''GAP''), in the O ...

, Farrell was the head coach of the American speed skating team. Farrell was a National Outdoor Champion. In 1971 he was inducted in the ''National Speedskating Hall of Fame''.Speedskating Hall of Fame – Speed Skaters
. ''The National Speedskating Museum and Hall of Fame''. Retrieved on August 29, 2007.

References

External links

John Farrell at SkateResults.com
* Magne Teigen
Evolution of Olympic Records
''International Skating Union'' (2006-03-05). Retrieved on 2007-08-30. 1906 births 1994 deaths American male speed skaters Speed skaters at the 1928 Winter Olympics Speed skaters at the 1932 Winter Olympics Olympic bronze medalists for the United States in speed skating Medalists at the 1928 Winter Olympics Speed skating coaches {{US-Winter-Olympic-medalist-stub