Joseph Forshaw (athlete)

Joseph Forshaw (Joseph "Joe" Forshaw Jr., born May 13, 1881 in St. Louis, Missouri, † November 26, 1964 ibid ) was an American marathon runner.

He was the second of seven children of the married couple Margaret and Joseph Forshaw sen., A cabinetmaker, who emigrated from England to the United States in 1870. As a child, Joe was, as he was called, often sickly, suffering from dizzy spells and shortness of breath. Doctors attest to its a weak heart and suspected in the age of seven, that he might die before reaching adulthood. His father then decided to counter with a program for physical training the judgment of doctors. These included long walks over 40 km and longer ice runs throughout the day. In addition, Joe Forshaw received from his father after a protein drink consisting of sherry with a raw egg stirred in. At age 13, enjoyed good health and Forshaw could find, moreover, that he possessed an extraordinary stamina against his schoolmates.

1898 after the opening of the first artificial ice rink in St. Louis Forshaw is involved in several speed skating competitions and won most of them. He also played in the ice hockey team of the Central High School and later in a very successful Hockey team in his hometown. He played small local bike race and won there as well. Another sporting passion of Forshaw was the long-distance swimming, so he participated several times at 10 miles swimming competition in the Mississippi River, but could it considering his other successes surprisingly never win.

In 1903, Joseph Forshaw member of the newly established Missouri Athletic Club. Here he took part in club competitions for the first time to run competitions on the half and the whole mile. Although he finished only second and third places was thus laid the foundation for his running career.

1904 World's Fair was held in Forshaws hometown of St. Louis, in the framework of which the Olympic Games were held in 1904. Apart from the competitions, which are considered by today's standards as olympic, there were also many non-Olympic sports competitions. This included competitions with exclusively national character as well as the at that time very popular handicap competitions where for leveling different power levels eg Timelines were set. Forshaw was already participated in these competitions. He won the two miles run at the Olympic Handicap Open Meeting, the two miles run at Western AAU Handicap meeting, Figures 1 mile run at the Special Athletic Event, Figures 1 mile run at the Olympic Irish Sports Meeting, and finished second in two other competitions each third place. Forshaws particular interest, however, was the Olympic marathon, in which he stood as spectators along the route. Fascinated by the achievements and strengths of the will of athletes, a new passion was born for him.

1905 Forshaw ran his first marathon at the premiere of 25 miles long run of Freeburg to St. Louis, hosted by the Missouri Athletic Club. Forshaw won the race with 3:16:37,4 hours and 20 minutes ahead of the runner-up. In the same year he won two more races over similarly long distances.

Forshaw 1906 by the American Olympic Committee, the predecessor organization of the United States Olympic Committee, nominated for the marathon at the 1906 Summer Olympics in Athens. His appeal was based solely on the fact that at the time counted Forshaw in the United States to the best long-distance runners, because national knockouts, the U.S. Trials, were not introduced until 1908. The Olympic run from Marathon to Athens was disappointing for Forshaw. A knee injury plagued him during the race, but he reached the twelfth.

1907 and 1908 participated Forshaw, who had become too Western American champion in cross-country running, again in the marathon in his hometown, which was built in 1908 aligned next to the Boston Marathon as a second elimination race for participating in the 1908 Olympic Games in London. With a personal best of 2:30:00,4 hours that he should not reach again, he was just 4 seconds behind the winner, Sidney Hatch, finished second and qualified as an Olympic participant.

Forshaw 1908 was not one of the favorites of the Olympic marathon. He had the task of accompanying the runs driven stronger assessed Lewis Tewanima and support. He was, however, 30 km become so slow and without any chance to win that Forshaw continued to run alone, now with a much higher pace. He fought his way past many competitors and eventually ran fourth across the finish line. From the drama of the first runners at the finish line, Dorando Pietri, he got nothing. Due to the disqualification of Pietri Forshaw eventually finished third. After learning that torments suffered the placed runners in front of him, he was convinced that he had won the victory, if he had been released from Tewanima already a few kilometers earlier. Spectators and running mates confirmed that Forshaw had left the freshest impression of all runners at the finish.

1909 was Joseph Forshaw in a record time of 2:41 hrs on Pikes Peak. It is unknown from where he started, but it was hardly the distance, and distance that is covered in today's Pikes Peak Marathon.

1911 and 1912 Forshaw was almost a matter of course participants in the marathon in St. Louis, and as early as 1908, it was in 1912 by a knockout, this time to participate in the Olympic Games in Stockholm in 1912. With a time of 2:37:32 hours, he ran again finished second and qualified surprising one more time as an Olympic participant.

Forshaw was the age of 31 in Stockholm at the oldest runners, and you no longer counted him among the best. In the race, he kept always in the midfield, thanks to its experience and its excellent endurance but he fought his position to position forward and finally reached the tenth place.

The rankings at the Olympic Games for Joseph Forshaw:

• Olympic Games between 1906 Athens Marathon - twelfth place without timing ( gold at Billy Sherring from Canada with 2:51:23,6 hours)

• Marathon - Bronze with 2:57:10,4 hrs (Gold to John Hayes of the United States with 2:55:18,4 hours; silver to Charles Hefferon of South Africa with 2:56:06,0 hours)

• Marathon - Tenth place with 2:49:49,4 hrs (Gold on Ken McArthur from South Africa with 2:36:54,8 hours)

After returning from Stockholm Forshaw retired from competitive sports and joined his father's company, in the castings and cast parts for blast furnaces were manufactured. In 1914 he married and raised four children.

His interest in the sport was undiminished even in old age. 1915 founded Forshaw an amateur hockey team in which he was an active player until his 51st birthday. He played in various clubs lacrosse and tennis. With its sporty versatility and experience, it was not surprising that Forshaw was also active as a sports official. For several years he was president of the Western American Association of Athletics Federations ( WAAU ). He founded a skating association for the state of Missouri and became its chairman. Forshaw but also engaged for disadvantaged young people, for whom he founded a club where they should be funded by a sports program.

With 57 years Forshaw learned a new sport, figure skating, and operating this sport until the age of 80.

Forshaw was certainly not a very successful athlete, remarkable, however, is that his name appeared in the context of four Olympic Games.