John Charles Lordan (or Lorden) [nb 1] (born June 30, 1874, or June 29, 1876 [nb 2] , died February 12, 1960 [4] [nb 3] ) was an American long-distance runner who won the 1903 Boston Marathon and competed in the marathon at the 1904 Summer Olympics in St. Louis, Missouri. [5] [6]
Born in Murragh, Cork, Ireland. Lordan was trained by fellow Cantabridgian Tad Gormley. [1] [2] After finishing fifth in 1901 and third in 1902, Lordan finished ahead of Sammy Mellor and Michael Spring to win the 1903 Boston Marathon in a time of 2:41:29, [5] At the 1904 Summer Olympics, condition were very warm during the marathon and Lordon was reported to have begun vomiting within the first half mile of the race. [5] He did not finish the competition. [5] The next year, he entered the Boston Marathon but finished twelfth in a time of 2:57:51. [7]
He was an Irish immigrant who worked as a shipping agent for a manufacturing company in Cambridge. He trained at night only because of his job.
On August 18, 1909, Lorden raced a marathon in St. John’s, Newfoundland against his former teammate and 1898 Boston Marathon champion Ronald MacDonald on a six-lap-to-the-mile track at St. Bonaventure's College before 3,000 spectators. MacDonald was four laps behind at the twenty mile mark when Lorden "hit the wall." At the end, MacDonald finished 40 yards and ten seconds ahead of Lorden, in a time of 3:07:50 over 25 miles (40 km). [8]
A monument was erected in his home town, Bandon, Co. Cork, to commemorate his victory in the Boston Marathon of 1903.
At the 1904 Summer Olympics, twenty-five athletics events were contested. A total of 74 medals were awarded.
Thomas John Hicks was an American track and field athlete. He won the marathon at the Olympic Games in 1904.
John Joseph Hayes was an American athlete, a member of the Irish American Athletic Club, and winner of the marathon race at the 1908 Summer Olympics. Hayes' Olympic victory contributed to the early growth of long-distance running and marathoning in the United States. He was also the first man to win a marathon at the now official standard distance of 26 miles 385 yards when Olympic officials lengthened the distance to put the finish line in front of the Royal Box.
Ronald John MacDonald was a Canadian runner, best known as the winner of the second Boston Marathon, in 1898. He later became a successful physician in Nova Scotia.
Frederick Lorz was an American long distance runner who won the 1905 Boston Marathon. Lorz is also known for his "finish" in the marathon at the 1904 Summer Olympics for not having crossed the "half-way mark" and still winning.
John Joseph Daly was an Irish runner who won a silver medal in the steeplechase at the 1904 Summer Olympics. He competed for Ireland at the International Cross Country Championships of 1903–1906 and won two silver team medals; individually he won a bronze in 1903 and finished fourth in 1904 and 1906. When not competing for Ireland as a member of the Gaelic Athletic Association, Daly entered races as a member of the Irish American Athletic Club.
Sidney Herbert Hatch was an American athlete who competed for the United States in the 1904 Summer Olympics held in St. Louis, United States, in the 4 mile team where he won the silver medal with his teammates James Lightbody, Frank Verner, Lacey Hearn and Frenchman Albert Corey.
The men's marathon at the 1904 Summer Olympics in St. Louis, United States, took place on August 30 of that year, over a distance of 24.85 miles (40 km).
Richard Grant was a Canadian track and field athlete who competed at the 1900 Summer Olympics in Paris, France for the United States. He also competed in the first four Boston Marathons, one of only two athletes to have done so.
Félix de la Caridad Carvajal y Soto, known as Andarín Carvajal was a Cuban mailman and long-distance runner who competed in the 1904 Summer Olympics.
John Peter Caffery was a Canadian track and field athlete who competed in the marathon at the 1908 Summer Olympics where he finished in 11th place. Caffrey was also a two-time champion of the Boston Marathon. He won with a time of 2:39:44.4 in 1900 and with a time of 2:29:23.6 in 1901, both of which were course records for the then 25-mile course.
Robert Arthur Fowler was a Newfoundland-born long-distance runner who was recognized by the International Association of Athletics Federations as having set a world's best in the marathon on January 1, 1909 with a time of 2:52:45.4 at the Empire City Marathon in Yonkers, New York.
Samuel Alexander Mellor Jr. was an American long-distance runner who won the 1902 Boston Marathon and competed in the marathon at the 1904 Summer Olympics in St. Louis, Missouri.
John J. McDermott was an Irish-American athlete. Nicknamed "J.J." or "little Mac", he won the first marathon run in the United States in 1896, as well as the inaugural Boston Marathon, then known as the B.A.A. Road Race, in 1897. He was a lithographer by trade.
Garry Brian Bjorklund is an American middle- and long-distance runner. He represented the United States in the 1976 Summer Olympics in the 10,000 meters. As a high schooler, he set a Minnesota state record for the mile run which lasted 39 years. At the University of Minnesota, he won the 1971 national championship in the six-mile run, and won numerous conference championships in various disciplines. Following his 1976 Summer Olympics appearance, Bjorklund became a marathon runner, and set a national age group record in 1980.
Michael Spring was an American track and field athlete. Spring won the 1904 Boston Marathon, after finishing third in 1903.
Lawrence Joseph Brignolia, sometimes Brignoli, was an American long-distance runner and sculler of Italian descent. He won the third running of the Boston Marathon, in 1899. A 161-pound (73 kg) blacksmith, he remains the heaviest person ever to claim victory in the event. He was the only runner to finish each of the first three Boston Marathons, and one of two runners who participated in each of the first four.
Umberto Blasi was an Italian long-distance runner who was a three-time national champion in the marathon and competed in the men's marathon at the 1908 Summer Olympics.
Thomas Patrick Morrissey was an American long-distance runner who won the Boston Marathon in 1908.
Timothy Ford was an American long distance runner who won the Boston Marathon in 1906. At the age of eighteen, he is the youngest person ever to have won that race.