Ron Delany facts for kids
Delany in 1957
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nickname(s) | Ronnie | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Nationality | Irish | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Born | 6 March 1935 Arklow, County Wicklow, Ireland |
||||||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 184 cm | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Weight | 75 kg | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Sport | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Country | Ireland | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Sport | Athletics | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Event(s) | 800 m, 1500 m | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Club | Crusaders Athletic Club, Dublin | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Coached by | Jumbo Elliott | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Retired | 1962 | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Achievements and titles | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Regional finals | 1954 European Athletics Championships, 1958 European Athletics Championships |
||||||||||||||||||||||
| Olympic finals | 1956 Summer Olympics, 1960 Summer Olympics |
||||||||||||||||||||||
| Personal best(s) | 800 m – 1:47.1 (1961) 1500 m – 3:41.49 (1956) |
||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Medal record
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||
| Updated on 29 July 2012. | |||||||||||||||||||||||
Ronald Michael Delany (born 6 March 1935) is a famous Irish athlete. He was a middle-distance runner. Ron Delany won a gold medal in the 1500 metres race at the 1956 Summer Olympics. This was a huge achievement for Ireland.
He also won a bronze medal in the 1500 metres at the 1958 European Athletics Championships. Ron Delany competed in other big events too. He retired from running in 1962. Many people in Ireland know him as a great Olympian.
Contents
Ron Delany's Early Life
Ron Delany was born in Arklow, County Wicklow, Ireland. When he was six, his family moved to Sandymount, Dublin. He went to a few schools in Dublin. One of them was O'Connell School. They even named sports facilities there after him!
At Catholic University School, Ron had a coach named Jack Sweeney (mathematics teacher). Jack helped him a lot. Ron later studied in the United States at Villanova University. There, he was coached by another famous track coach, Jumbo Elliott (coach).
Ron Delany's Running Career
Ron Delany first showed his talent at the 1954 European Athletics Championships. He reached the final of the 800 metres race. In 1956, he became one of the few runners to run a four-minute mile. This means he ran a mile in under four minutes, which was very fast!
Winning Olympic Gold
Ron Delany qualified for the 1500 metres final at the 1956 Summer Olympics in Melbourne. A local runner, John Landy, was expected to win. But Ron stayed close to Landy. In the last lap, Ron started a super-fast sprint. He won the race and set a new Olympic record!
This made Ron Delany the first Irish person to win an Olympic gold medal in athletics since 1932. People in Ireland woke up to the exciting news. He was Ireland's last Olympic champion for 36 years.
Later Achievements
After the Olympics, Ron Delany kept winning. He won the British AAA Championships title in 1957. He also got a bronze medal at the 1958 European Athletics Championships. In 1960, he competed again at the 1960 Summer Olympics in Rome.
Ron continued his running success in North America. He won four straight AAU titles in the mile race. He also won three NCAA titles. He was almost unbeatable on indoor tracks. He even broke the World Indoor Mile Record three times! In 1961, Ron won a gold medal at the World University Games. He stopped competitive running in 1962.
Life After Running
After he stopped competing, Ron Delany worked for an Irish airline called Aer Lingus in the United States. Then, for almost 20 years, he worked for B&I Line. This was an Irish ferry company. He was in charge of marketing and how the ferries operated.
In 1998, Ron started his own company. It focused on marketing and sports advice. He also coached athletics for a while at Franciscan College Gormanston.
Awards and Recognition
Ron Delany has received many honors for his achievements. In 2006, he was given the Freedom of the City of Dublin. This is a special award from the city. He also received an honorary Doctor of Laws Degree from University College Dublin in 2006.
In 2019, a new housing area in Arklow, where he was born, was named Delany Park in his honor. Ron Delany attended the opening himself. Two streets in Strabane, Northern Ireland, were also named after him in the 1950s. They were called Delaney Crescent and Olympic Drive.
See also
In Spanish: Ron Delany para niños
