Peter O'Connor (24 October 1872 – 9 November 1957) was an Irish
track and field
Track and field (or athletics in British English) is a sport that includes Competition#Sports, athletic contests based on running, jumping, and throwing skills. The name used in North America is derived from where the sport takes place, a ru ...
athlete who set a long-standing world record for the
long jump
The long jump is a track and field event in which athletes combine speed, strength and agility in an attempt to leap as far as possible from a takeoff point. Along with the triple jump, the two events that measure jumping for distance as a gr ...
and won two Olympic medals in the
1906 Intercalated Games
The 1906 Intercalated Games or 1906 Olympic Games (), held from 22 April 1906 to 2 May 1906, was an international multi-sport event that was celebrated in Athens, Kingdom of Greece. They were at the time considered to be Olympic Games and were re ...
.
Early career
Born in
Millom
Millom is a town and civil parish on the north shore of the estuary of the River Duddon in southernmost Cumberland, Cumbria, England. It is situated just outside the Lake District National Park, about north of Barrow-in-Furness ( by road) and ...
,
Cumberland
Cumberland ( ) is an area of North West England which was historically a county. The county was bordered by Northumberland to the north-east, County Durham to the east, Westmorland to the south-east, Lancashire to the south, and the Scottish ...
, England, on 24 October 1872, O'Connor grew up in
Wicklow
Wicklow ( ; , meaning 'church of the toothless one'; ) is the county town of County Wicklow in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is located on the east of Ireland, south of Dublin. According to the 2022 census of Ireland, 2022 census, it had ...
,
County Wicklow
County Wicklow ( ; ) is a Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. The last of the traditional 32 counties, having been formed as late as 1606 in Ireland, 1606, it is part of the Eastern and Midland Region and the Provinces ...
,
Ireland
Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...
. He joined the
Gaelic Athletic Association
The Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA; ; CLG) is an Irish international amateur sports, amateur sporting and cultural organisation, focused primarily on promoting indigenous Gaelic games and pastimes, which include the traditional Irish sports o ...
(GAA) in 1896. In 1899, he won All-Ireland medals in
long jump
The long jump is a track and field event in which athletes combine speed, strength and agility in an attempt to leap as far as possible from a takeoff point. Along with the triple jump, the two events that measure jumping for distance as a gr ...
,
high jump
The high jump is a track and field event in which competitors must jump unaided over a horizontal bar placed at measured heights without dislodging it. In its modern, most-practiced format, a bar is placed between two standards with a crash mat f ...
and
hop, step and jump (triple jump).
Over the next ten years he consistently beat British athletes in international competitions: the (British) Amateur Athletic Association invited him to represent Britain in the Olympic Games in 1900, but he refused, as he only wished to represent Ireland. O'Connor won six consecutive
AAA Championships
The AAA Championships was an annual track and field competition organised by the Amateur Athletic Association of England. It was the foremost domestic athletics event in the United Kingdom during its lifetime, despite the existence of the offi ...
long jump titles from 1901 to 1906 and two long jump titles from 1903 and 1904.
World record
As of June 1900, the
world record
A world record is usually the best global and most important performance that is ever recorded and officially verified in a specific skill, sport, or other kind of activity. The book ''Guinness World Records'' and other world records organizatio ...
for the long jump was held by
Myer Prinstein
Myer Prinstein (born Mejer Prinsztejn, December 22, 1878 – March 10, 1925) was a Poland-born American track and field athlete who held the world record for the long jump in 1900 and won four gold medals in three Olympic Games for the long jump ...
of
Syracuse University
Syracuse University (informally 'Cuse or SU) is a Private university, private research university in Syracuse, New York, United States. It was established in 1870 with roots in the Methodist Episcopal Church but has been nonsectarian since 1920 ...
, at 24 ft 7¼ins (~7.50m). In 1900 and 1901, competing with the Irish Amateur Athletic Association (IAAA), a rival association to the GAA, O'Connor set several unofficial world records in the long jump. He set an officially recognised world record of 24 ft 9ins (~7.54m) at the
Royal Dublin Society
The Royal Dublin Society (RDS) () is an Irish philanthropic organisation and members club which was founded as the 'Dublin Society' on 25 June 1731 with the aim to see Ireland thrive culturally and economically. It was long active as a learned ...
's grounds in
Dublin
Dublin is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Situated on Dublin Bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, and is bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, pa ...
on 27 May 1901. On 5 August 1901 he jumped 24 ft 11¾ins (7.61m) in Dublin. This was the first
IAAF
World Athletics, formerly known as the International Amateur Athletic Federation and International Association of Athletics Federations and formerly abbreviated as the IAAF, is the international sports governing body, governing body for the sport ...
recognised long jump world record. It caused a sensation at the time, being only a fraction short of the 25 ft (7.62m) barrier, and remained unbeaten for 20 years, a longevity surpassed only by
Jesse Owens
James Cleveland "Jesse" Owens (September 12, 1913 – March 31, 1980) was an American track and field athlete who made history at the Athletics at the 1936 Summer Olympics, 1936 Olympic Games by becoming the first person to win four gold meda ...
's 25-year record and
Bob Beamon
Robert Beamon (born August 29, 1946) is an American former track and field athlete, best known for his world record in the long jump at the Mexico City Olympics in 1968. By jumping , he broke the existing record by a margin of and his world r ...
's 23-year record and by the current record of
Mike Powell. It remained an Irish record for a remarkable 89 years.
1906 Olympic Games
In 1906 O'Connor and two other athletes,
Con Leahy and
John Daly, were entered for the
Intercalated Games
The 1906 Intercalated Games or 1906 Olympic Games (), held from 22 April 1906 to 2 May 1906, was an international multi-sport event that was celebrated in Athens, Kingdom of Greece. They were at the time considered to be Olympic Games and were re ...
in Athens by the IAAA and GAA, representing Ireland. They were given green blazers and cap with a gold shamrock, and an Irish flag (the ‘
Erin Go Bragh
Erin go Bragh ( ), sometimes Erin go Braugh, is the anglicisation of an Irish language phrase, , and is used to express allegiance to Ireland. It is most often translated as "Ireland Forever."
Origin
''Erin go Bragh'' is an anglicisation of ...
’ flag). However, the rules of the games were changed so that only athletes nominated by National Olympic Committees were eligible. Ireland did not have an Olympic Committee, and the British Olympic Council claimed the three. On registering for the Games, O'Connor and his fellow-athletes found that they were listed as Great Britain, not Irish, team members.
In the long jump competition, O'Connor finally met
Myer Prinstein
Myer Prinstein (born Mejer Prinsztejn, December 22, 1878 – March 10, 1925) was a Poland-born American track and field athlete who held the world record for the long jump in 1900 and won four gold medals in three Olympic Games for the long jump ...
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", ...
who was competing for the U.S. team and whose world record O'Connor had broken five years previously. The only judge for the competition was Matthew Halpin, who was manager of the American team. O'Connor protested, fearing bias, but was overruled. He continued to protest Halpin's decisions through the remainder of the competition. The distances were not announced until the end of the competition. When they were, Prinstein was declared the winner, with O'Connor in Silver Medal position.
At the flag-raising ceremony, in protest at the flying of the
Union Flag
The Union Jack or Union Flag is the ''de facto'' national flag of the United Kingdom. The Union Jack was also used as the official flag of several British colonies and dominions before they adopted their own national flags.
It is sometimes a ...
for his second place, O'Connor scaled a flagpole in the middle of the field and waved the Irish flag, while the pole was guarded by Con Leahy.
In the
hop, step and jump competition two days later, O'Connor beat his fellow-countryman,
Con Leahy, to win the gold medal. At 34, he was the oldest ever Gold Medal winner in this event. Prinstein, the champion in
1900
As of March 1 ( O.S. February 17), when the Julian calendar acknowledged a leap day and the Gregorian calendar did not, the Julian calendar fell one day further behind, bringing the difference to 13 days until February 28 ( O.S. February 15 ...
and
1904
Events
January
* January 7 – The distress signal ''CQD'' is established, only to be replaced 2 years later by ''SOS''.
* January 8 – The Blackstone Library is dedicated, marking the beginning of the Chicago Public Library system.
* ...
, did not feature in the medals.
Later career
O'Connor won no more titles after 1906. He remained involved in athletics all his life. He was a founder member and first Vice-President of Waterford Athletic Club, and attended later Olympics both as judge and spectator. He practised as a solicitor in
Waterford
Waterford ( ) is a City status in Ireland, city in County Waterford in the South-East Region, Ireland, south-east of Ireland. It is located within the Provinces of Ireland, province of Munster. The city is situated at the head of Waterford H ...
, and was married with nine children. He died in Waterford on 9 November 1957.
References
External links
*
* ''The King of Spring - The Life and Times of Peter O'Connor.'' Mark Quinn.
Peter O'Connor Sports Reference. Retrieved on 26 March 2015.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Oconnor, Peter
Athletes from County Wicklow
People from Millom
1872 births
1957 deaths
Athletes (track and field) at the 1906 Intercalated Games
World record setters in athletics (track and field)
Irish male long jumpers
Irish male triple jumpers
British male long jumpers
British male triple jumpers
Medalists at the 1906 Intercalated Games
Sportspeople from Cumbria