Patrick Ryan (hammer Thrower)
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Patrick James Ryan (20 January 1883 – 13 February 1964) was an
Irish American Irish Americans () are Irish ethnics who live within in the United States, whether immigrants from Ireland or Americans with full or partial Irish ancestry. Irish immigration to the United States From the 17th century to the mid-19th c ...
hammer throw The hammer throw (HT for short) is one of the four throwing events in regular outdoor track-and-field competitions, along with the discus throw, shot put and Javelin throw, javelin. The hammer used in this sport is not like any of the tools a ...
er. He competed for the United States at the
1920 Summer Olympics The 1920 Summer Olympics (; ; ), officially known as the Games of the VII Olympiad (; ; ) and commonly known as Antwerp 1920 (; Dutch language, Dutch and German language, German: ''Antwerpen 1920''), were an international multi-sport event held i ...
and won a gold medal in the hammer throw and a silver in the 56-pound weight throw. In 1913 he established the first world record in the hammer throw, which stood as a world record for 25 years and as an American record for 40 years. Ryan was part of Irish weight throwers known as the Irish Whales.


Biography

Born 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 ...
,
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 ...
, Ryan won his first Irish hammer title in 1902, beating the great
Tom Kiely Thomas Francis Kiely (25 August 1869 – 6 November 1951) was an Irish athlete. Kiely won gold in the all-round at the 1904 Summer Olympics in St. Louis, Missouri representing Great Britain and Ireland, making him the first multi-event track a ...
. In 1910 Ryan emigrated to the
United States of America The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 contiguo ...
. After placing third in the 1911 AAU championship in his first year he improved to take second place in 1912, and won the title in 1913. With the exception of 1918 when he was in
Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...
with the American Armed Forces he won the AAU title every year from then up to and including 1921, when he retired. While in
New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...
Ryan worked as a labour foreman with Consolidated Edison, Incorporated. He was a member of both 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", ...
and the
New York Athletic Club The New York Athletic Club is a Gentlemen's club, private social club and athletic club in New York (state), New York state. Founded in 1868, the club has approximately 8,600 members and two facilities: the City House, located at 180 Central Pa ...
. He had not established citizenship in time for the 1912 Olympics in
Stockholm Stockholm (; ) is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, most populous city of Sweden, as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in the Nordic countries. Approximately ...
, and so missed an opportunity. The following year, however, at the curiously named Eccentric Fireman’s Games he established the first official
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 ...
world record for the event with a throw of . This remained a world record for 25 years and an American record for forty years, being eventually beaten by Martin Engel in July 1953. He came close at the AAU on 26 June with a winning throw of , but took the record with a throw of Athletics Weekly, (AW8.13.15) on 11 July 1953. In 1920, Ryan got his chance at the Olympics and won the title, beating
Carl Johan Lind Carl Johan "Massa" Lind (25 May 1883 – 2 February 1965) was a Swedish athlete who competed at the 1912, 1920, 1924 and 1928 Summer Olympics, missing the 1916 Games that were cancelled due to World War I. Career Lind was selected to represe ...
of
Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and north, and Finland to the east. At , Sweden is the largest Nordic count ...
by over . He also took a silver medal in the now-discontinued event of throwing a 56 lb. weight for distance, the only time this event was held at the Olympics. In 1924 he returned to Ireland to take over the family farm and remained there until his death in 1964.


References


External links


Winged Fist Organization

''Patrick J. Ryan in 'Sports People' file at Limerick City Library, Ireland''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ryan, Patrick Athletes from County Limerick Irish male hammer throwers American male hammer throwers Olympic gold medalists for the United States in track and field Olympic silver medalists for the United States in track and field Athletes (track and field) at the 1920 Summer Olympics 1881 births 1964 deaths World record setters in athletics (track and field) Male weight throwers Medalists at the 1920 Summer Olympics Irish emigrants to the United States Olympic weight throwers 20th-century American sportsmen