Paul Henry Pilgrim (October 26, 1883 – January 8, 1958) was an American runner. He competed at the 1904, 1906 and 1908 Olympics and won three gold medals in 1904 and 1906. At the

1904 Summer Olympics The 1904 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the III Olympiad and also known as St. Louis 1904) were an international multi-sport event held in St. Louis, Missouri, United States, from 29 August to 3 September 1904, as part of an extended s ...

, Pilgrim failed to complete the

400 m The 400 metres, or 400-meter dash, is a sprint event in track and field competitions. It has been featured in the athletics programme at the Summer Olympics since 1896 for men and since 1964 for women. On a standard outdoor running track, it is o ...

and

800 m The 800 metres, or meters ( US spelling), is a common track running event. It is the shortest commonly run middle-distance running event. The 800 metres is run over two laps of an outdoor (400-metre) track and has been an Olympic event since the ...

events, and finished sixth in the four mile team run, aiding the

New York Athletic Club The New York Athletic Club is a private social club and athletic club in New York state. Founded in 1868, the club has approximately 8,600 members and two facilities: the City House, located at 180 Central Park South in Manhattan, and Travers ...

(NYAC) to win the gold medal. In 1906, Pilgrim traveled to Athens on his own, missing the wave that washed over the deck of the American team's ship in

Gibraltar ) , anthem = " God Save the King" , song = " Gibraltar Anthem" , image_map = Gibraltar location in Europe.svg , map_alt = Location of Gibraltar in Europe , map_caption = United Kingdom shown in pale green , mapsize = , image_map2 = Gib ...

. The wave injured about half-dozen athletes aboard the deck, including one of the favorites in the 400 m,

Harry Hillman Harry Livingston Hillman Jr. (September 8, 1881 – August 9, 1945) was an American athlete and winner of three gold medals at the 1904 Summer Olympics. Biography Born in Brooklyn, New York, Hillman was a member of three Olympic tea ...

. Pilgrim advanced to the final in the 400 m, and was third before the final straight. On that stretch, he passed

Wyndham Halswelle Wyndham Halswelle (30 May 1882 – 31 March 1915) was a British athlete. He won the controversial 400m race at the 1908 Summer Olympics, becoming the only athlete to win an Olympic title by a walkover. Halswelle was also an infantry ...

Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the northwest coast of continental Europe. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the largest European island and the ninth-largest island in the world. It is ...

and Nigel Barker of

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

to win in time of 53.2 seconds. In the 800 m, Pilgrim passed

James Lightbody James Davies Lightbody (March 16, 1882 – March 2, 1953) was an American middle distance runner, winner of six Olympic medals (two of which are no longer recognized by the International Olympic Committee following its downgrading o ...

on the final lap and won by two

feet The foot ( : feet) is an anatomical structure found in many vertebrates. It is the terminal portion of a limb which bears weight and allows locomotion. In many animals with feet, the foot is a separate organ at the terminal part of the leg made ...

. This medal does not appear in results or tables published by the International Olympic Committee, which retroactively downgraded the

1906 Summer Olympics The 1906 Intercalated Games or 1906 Olympic Games was an international multi-sport event that was celebrated in Athens, Greece. They were at the time considered to be Olympic Games and were referred to as the "Second International Olympic Games i ...

and does not consider them to have been true "Games of the Olympiad." Following his success in 1906 Pilgrim never won a major competition. At the

1908 Summer Olympics The 1908 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the IV Olympiad and also known as London 1908) were an international multi-sport event held in London, England, United Kingdom, from 27 April to 31 October 1908. The 1908 Games were ori ...

he failed to reach the final of the 400 m event. He worked the rest of his career at NYAC, where he served as Athletic Director from 1914 to 1953.

References

Sources

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Pilgrim, Paul 1883 births 1958 deaths American male middle-distance runners American male sprinters Athletes (track and field) at the 1904 Summer Olympics Athletes (track and field) at the 1906 Intercalated Games Athletes (track and field) at the 1908 Summer Olympics Olympic gold medalists for the United States in track and field Track and field athletes from New York City Medalists at the 1904 Summer Olympics Medalists at the 1906 Intercalated Games