Michael J. Ryan (January 1, 1889 – December 27, 1971) was an American track and field athlete and a member of the Irish American Athletic Club. He was a distance runner and competed in the marathon for the U.S. Olympic team in the 1908 Summer Olympics and 1912 Summer Olympics, but did not finish either race.

Biography

Michael J. Ryan was born in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...

on January 1, 1889. In later life he owned a sporting goods store in

San Jose, California San Jose, officially San José (; ; ), is a major city in the U.S. state of California that is the cultural, financial, and political center of Silicon Valley and largest city in Northern California by both population and area. With a 2020 popu ...

. He died in a hospital there on December 27, 1971.

Career

Olympics

Ryan competed in the marathon for the U.S. Olympic team in the 1908 Summer Olympics, but did not finish. He also competed in the marathon at the 1912 Summer Olympics, but did not finish. He was a coach for U.S. Olympics teams in 1920,

1924 Events January * January 12 – Gopinath Saha shoots Ernest Day, whom he has mistaken for Sir Charles Tegart, the police commissioner of Calcutta, and is arrested soon after. * January 20– 30 – Kuomintang in China holds ...

, and

1928 Events January * January – British bacteriologist Frederick Griffith reports the results of Griffith's experiment, indirectly proving the existence of DNA. * January 1 – Eastern Bloc emigration and defection: Boris Bazhan ...

Boston Marathon

Ryan competed in the Boston Marathon in 1907, finishing 15th, in 1908 he came in fourth place with a time of 2:27:08. He did not finish the race in 1909. He came in fifth place in 1910 with a time of 2:38:24, and ninth place in 1911 with a time of 2:36:15. On April 19, 1912, "over an unusually sticky course, Mike Ryan, wearing the colors of the Irish American Athletic Club of

won the

Boston Athletic Association The Boston Athletic Association (B.A.A.) is a non-profit, running-focused, organized sports association for the Greater Boston area. The B.A.A. hosts such events as the Boston Marathon, the B.A.A. 5K, the B.A.A. 10K, the B.A.A. Half Marathon, the ...

's sixteenth Marathon race with a time of 2:21:18," cutting the former record by 21.04 seconds. In 1909, he finished third place in the

Yonkers Marathon The Yonkers Marathon, is a marathon race held annually in Yonkers, New York. Founded in 1907, it is the second oldest marathon in the United States, after the Boston Marathon. It is held on the third Sunday in October. In addition to the mar ...

, with a time of 2:49:40.

Canadian Marathon

In 1910, Ryan won the 2nd annual Canadian Marathon, held in

Hamilton, Ontario Hamilton is a port city in the Canadian Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Ontario. Hamilton has a Canada 2016 Census, population of 569,353, and its Census Metropolitan Area, census metropolitan area, which includes Burlington, ...

, "defeating a field of over thirty of the best Canadian distance runners" with a time of 2:49:19. "The roads in parts of the course were muddy and rough and Ryan's performance was a remarkable one." He finished seven minutes ahead of the second-place finisher, Charles Cook.

Marathon in London

On May 27, 1911, against an array of international athletes, Ryan came in second place in a marathon sponsored by the Polytechnic Harriers in London, England with a time of 2 hours 50 minutes and 45 seconds. The course for this race as nearly identical to the 1908 Olympic marathon.

References

External links

* *
Irish America Archives - NYUWinged Fist OrganizationOfficial website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ryan, Michael J. 1889 births 1971 deaths American male long-distance runners Olympic track and field athletes for the United States Athletes (track and field) at the 1908 Summer Olympics Athletes (track and field) at the 1912 Summer Olympics Boston Marathon male winners