Delany also competed at the 1954 European Athletics Championships in Bern and the 1960 Summer Olympics, though he was less successful on these occasions. He retired from competitive athletics in 1962. Delany is one of Ireland's most recognisable Olympians and international ambassadors.[3]
Delany studied commerce and finance at Villanova University in the United States.[6] While there he was coached by the well-known track coach Jumbo Elliott.
Delany qualified for the Olympic 1,500 metres final, in which local runner John Landy was the favourite. Delany kept close to Landy until the final lap, when Delany started a crushing final sprint, winning the race in a new Olympic record.[7] Delany thereby became the first Irishman to win an Olympic gold medal in athletics since Bob Tisdall and Pat O'Callaghan in 1932. The Irish people learned of its new champion at breakfast time.[8] Delany was Ireland's last Olympic champion for 36 years, until Michael Carruth won the gold medal in boxing at the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona.
Delany won the bronze medal in the 1,500 metres event at the 1958 European Athletics Championships. He went on to represent Ireland once again at the 1960 Summer Olympics held in Rome, this time in the 800 metres. He finished sixth in his quarter-final heat.
Delany continued his running career in North America, winning four successive AAU titles in the mile, adding to his total of four Irish national titles, and three NCAA titles. He was next to unbeatable on indoor tracks over that period, which included a 40-race winning streak. He broke the World Indoor Mile Record on three occasions. In 1961 Delany won the gold medal in the World University games in Sofia, Bulgaria. He retired from competitive running in 1962.[8]
Retirement
After retiring from competition, Delany first worked in the United States for the Irish airline Aer Lingus. After that, for almost 20 years, he was Assistant Chief Executive of B&I Line, responsible for marketing and operations of the Irish ferry company based in Dublin. In 1998, he established his own company focused on marketing and sports consultancy.[1] Ron Delany coached athletics for a period at Franciscan College Gormanston in the 1960s.
Honours
In 2006, Delany was granted the Freedom of the City of Dublin.[9] He was also conferred with an honorary Doctor of Laws Degree by University College Dublin in 2006.[3] In 2019, a housing scheme in Arklow, where Delany was born, was named Delany Park in his honour. He attended the opening in person.[10] Similarly, two streets in Strabane in Northern Ireland were named Delaney Crescent and Olympic Drive in the 1950s in his honour – however, Delany was not aware of these until it was pointed out that his surname had been spelt wrongly.[11]
References
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Ron Delany.
^ ab"Growing up on Meath eggs". Irish Identity. As for media coverage of the Melbourne Olympics, there was only one travelling journalist from this country, Arthur P. McWeeney of the Irish Independent, and people back home depended on the old BBC Light Programme for live coverage on the radio. Delany's 1,500 metres victory was relayed to Ireland at breakfast time. Just imagine the excitement on that crackling machine as the Irishman raced to glory.
*Distances have varied as follows: Mile (1940–2002) and 1932, 2007 and odd numbered years since 2011, 1500 meters (1933–1939), (2003–6, 2008–2010) and even numbered years since 2010
