Patrick Leahy (athlete)
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Patrick Joseph Leahy (20 May 1877 – 29 December 1927) was an Irish
athlete An athlete is most commonly a person who competes in one or more sports involving physical strength, speed, power, or endurance. Sometimes, the word "athlete" is used to refer specifically to sport of athletics competitors, i.e. including track ...
who won
Olympic Olympic or Olympics may refer to Sports Competitions * Olympic Games, international multi-sport event held since 1896 ** Summer Olympic Games ** Winter Olympic Games * Ancient Olympic Games, ancient multi-sport event held in Olympia, Greece bet ...
medals (for Great Britain and Ireland) in the
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
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 ...
at the
1900 Summer Olympics The 1900 Summer Olympics (), today officially known as the Games of the II Olympiad () and also known as Paris 1900, were an international multi-sport event that took place in Paris, France, from 14 May to 28 October 1900. No opening or closin ...
.


Biography

Leahy was born in Creggane, in the
Civil parish In England, a civil parish is a type of administrative parish used for local government. It is a territorial designation which is the lowest tier of local government. Civil parishes can trace their origin to the ancient system of parishes, w ...
of Hackmys, in the
barony Barony may refer to: * Barony, the peerage, office of, or territory held by a baron * Barony, the title and land held in fealty by a feudal baron * Barony (county division), a type of administrative or geographical division in parts of the British ...
of Coshma near
Kilmallock Kilmallock () is a town in south County Limerick, Republic of Ireland, Ireland, near the border with County Cork, 30 km south of Limerick city. There is a Dominican Priory in the town and King John's Castle (Kilmallock), King's Castle (or K ...
in
County Limerick County Limerick () is a western Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Munster and is located in the Mid-West Region, Ireland, Mid-West which comprises part of the Southern Reg ...
, near the border between County Limerick and
County Cork County Cork () is the largest and the southernmost Counties of Ireland, county of Republic of Ireland, Ireland, named after the city of Cork (city), Cork, the state's second-largest city. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Munster ...
. He was one of seven brothers all of whom were sportsmen. His brother Con won medals in jumping at two Olympic Games. Another brother, Timothy, also jumped competitively. Patrick broke the British high jump record in Dublin in 1898 with a jump of 6 ft. 4in. (1.93m). He went on to win the
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 ...
high jump title at the
1898 AAA Championships The 1898 AAA Championships was an outdoor track and field competition organised by the Amateur Athletic Association (AAA), held on Saturday 2 July 1898 at the Stamford Bridge (stadium) Stamford Bridge () is a football stadium in Fulham, i ...
and 1899 AAA Championships and also came third in the long jump in 1899. Leahy also competed internationally in the long jump and the hop, step and jump (
triple jump The triple jump, sometimes referred to as the hop, step and jump or the hop, skip and jump, is a track and field event, similar to long jump. As a group, the two events are referred to as the "horizontal jumps". The competitor runs down the tr ...
). In the
1900 Olympic Games The 1900 Summer Olympics (), today officially known as the Games of the II Olympiad () and also known as Paris 1900, were an international multi-sport event that took place in Paris, France, from 14 May to 28 October 1900. No opening or closin ...
in Paris, Leahy took part in three jump disciplines. He won the silver medal in the
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 ...
behind
Irving Baxter Irving Knott Baxter (March 25, 1876 in Utica, New York – June 13, 1957 in Utica, New York) was an American athlete, who won the gold medal in both the men's high jump and the pole vault at the 1900 Summer Olympics The 1900 Summer Olymp ...
of the United States, and the
bronze medal A bronze medal in sports and other similar areas involving competition is a medal made of bronze awarded to the third-place finisher of contests or competitions such as the Olympic Games, Commonwealth Games, etc. The outright winner receives ...
in 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 ...
behind
Alvin Kraenzlein Alvin Christian "Al" Kraenzlein (December 12, 1876 – January 6, 1928) was an American track-and-field athlete known as "the father of the modern hurdling technique". He was the first sportsman in the history of the Olympic games to win four in ...
and
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 ...
, he also finished fourth place in the triple jumps behind Prinstein,
James Connolly James Connolly (; 5 June 1868 – 12 May 1916) was a Scottish people, Scottish-born Irish republicanism, Irish republican, socialist, and trade union leader, executed for his part in the Easter Rising, 1916 Easter Rising against British rule i ...
and
Lewis Sheldon Lewis Pendleton Sheldon (June 9, 1874 in Rutland, Vermont – February 20, 1960 in Biarritz) was an American track and field athlete who competed in jumping events in the late 19th century and early 20th century. He participated in Athletic ...
. Eight years later, Leahy was back on the Olympic scene when he competed at the
1908 Summer Olympics The 1908 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the IV Olympiad and also known as London 1908) were an international multi-sport event held in London, England, from 27 April to 31 October 1908. The 1908 Games were originally schedu ...
, held in
London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...
, he entered the
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 ...
again, but unfortunately he only finished ninth in the qualifying so didn't advance to the final, unlike his brother
Con Leahy Cornelius "Con" Leahy (27 April 1876 – 18 December 1921) was an Ireland, Irish Athletics (sport), athlete, who won medals at the 1906 Intercalated Games and the 1908 Summer Olympics, 1908 Olympic Games for United Kingdom of Great Britain ...
who went on to win the silver medal. In 1909 Patrick and Con Leahy emigrated to the United States. Patrick died in
Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...
in 1927, aged 50.


References


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Leahy, Patrick 1877 births 1927 deaths Athletes from County Limerick Irish male high jumpers Irish male long jumpers Olympic athletes for Great Britain Olympic silver medallists for Great Britain Olympic bronze medallists for Great Britain Athletes (track and field) at the 1900 Summer Olympics Athletes (track and field) at the 1908 Summer Olympics Medalists at the 1900 Summer Olympics Olympic silver medalists in athletics (track and field) Olympic bronze medalists in athletics (track and field) Olympic male high jumpers Irish emigrants to the United States