James Duffy (athlete)
James " Jimmy" Duffy ( born May 1, 1890 in Sligo ( County Sligo), Ireland, † April 23, 1915 at Ypres (West Flanders), Belgium), was a Canadian athlete who the world's best marathon runners in the early 20th century counted. Duffy's greatest sporting successes were taking part in the Summer Olympic Games in Stockholm in 1912 and winning the Boston Marathon in 1914.
Even as a child drew James Duffy with the family to Edinburgh, where he grew up. Only for personal pleasure, he participated occasionally in Cross runs that he could win easily. In 1911 he left Scotland and emigrated to Canada, where he settled in Toronto. He found work as a tinsmith and stonemason.
In his spare time he visited the local YMCA, its director recognized the talent runs step by Duffy immediately. The jersey of the YMCA, he was sent in 1911 to the time the biggest running event in Toronto, the Ward Marathon, a run over 20 miles (32 km). In the lead, he stopped on the way and discussed with workers of another runner, of which he felt hindered. He awarded the victory and ran only finished second. This event is admirably the character of Duffy again, for was not the success of importance, but rather the pleasure. He also laid great emphasis on training future no discipline, but felt a cigarette and a beer before and after the race as indispensable.
Meanwhile, Duffy had joined the Eaton Athletic Club in Toronto, for which he took part in May 1912 in Hamilton Spectator at the marathon. The run was the designation of the Canadian long-distance runner for the Olympic Summer Games in 1912 and was therefore shortened to 19 miles ( 30.4 kilometers ). After a cold spring prevailed on race day for the first time hot weather. Of the 25 starters were only 8 to the finish. Even Duffy had overestimated his strength and was overtaken on the last mile of a U.S. runner, but qualified as a runner-up for the Olympics.
The marathon at the Olympic Summer Games 1912 was also marked by very high temperatures, which eventually even a runner, Francisco Lazaro, should cost you your life. Duffy made the run go slow, up to half of it was still far in the back field. After 26 km he had already fought his way up to 16th. More and more runners fell back or gave up, finally, Duffy was 5 km before the finish even on the fifth place he could defend to the finish.
In October 1912, Duffy took first again at the Ward Marathon, which he won this time, and shortly thereafter the Around the Bay Road Race in Hamilton, the oldest continuously discharged road race in North America. Again he won and even latched on to a new track record. His living in Hamilton coach persuaded him then to move from Toronto to Hamilton, which he did. Duffy was a member of the Ramblers Club of Hamilton and began serious training. This was followed by victory after victory, including in 1913 Yonkers Marathon and again the Around the Bay Road Race.
On April 19, 1914 Duffy competed in the Boston Marathon. His success had become common and Duffy's favorite role was so great that the bookies would not accept high bets on Duffy's victory. The race developed into a thriller, because Duffy's compatriot, Édouard Fabre, remained Duffy, who claimed the pace from the outset, on the heels. Only in the last kilometer ran Duffy out a small lead, which meant the victory of 15 seconds, which is up to the present time in the Boston Marathon one of the smallest distances of a winner to runner-up.
Duffy was henceforth in sporting circles a respected man. Since it surprised many of his contemporaries, that he wanted to make his future sports career as a professional runner. In June 1914 we organized between Duffy and his opponent from the Boston Marathon, Édouard Fabre, a run over 5 miles on a 800-meter race course in Kingston. This time Fabre won with almost 300 meters ahead.
With the outbreak of the First World War, Duffy announced himself as a soldier of the Canadian Army. In September 1914, he was one of the first Canadian troops Association, which were sent to Europe. Initially stationed in England, he was sent in the spring of 1915 to the front in Belgium. James Duffy fell in the Second Battle of Ypres on 23 April 1915 only 8 days before his 25th birthday and four days after his toughest opponent run, Édouard Fabre, the Boston Marathon in 1915, won.