View source for Ron Delany

{{short description|Irish middle-distance runner}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=November 2024}}
{{Use Hiberno-English|date=October 2022}}
{{Infobox sportsperson
| headercolor    = gold
| name           = Ron Delany
| image          = Ron Delany 1957.jpg
| image_size     = 230px
| caption        = Delany in 1957
| nickname       = Ronnie
| nationality    = [[Irish citizenship|Irish]]
| birth_date     = {{birth date and age|1935|3|6|df=yes}}
| birth_place    = [[Arklow]], [[County Wicklow]], Ireland
| death_date     = 
| death_place    = 
| height         = 184 cm<ref name=sr/>
| weight         = 75 kg
| website        = <!-- {{URL|www.example.com}} -->
| country        = Ireland
| sport          = [[Athletics at the Summer Olympics|Athletics]]
| event          = 800 m, 1500 m
| coach          = [[Jumbo Elliott (coach)|Jumbo Elliott]]
| club = Crusaders Athletic Club, Dublin<ref name=sr/>
| retired        = 1962
| coaching       = 
| worlds         = 
| regionals      = [[1954 European Athletics Championships]], <br /> [[1958 European Athletics Championships]]
| nationals      = 
| olympics       = [[1956 Summer Olympics]], <br /> [[1960 Summer Olympics]]
| paralympics    = 
| highestranking = 
| pb             = 800 m – 1:47.1 (1961)<br />1500 m – 3:41.49 (1956)<ref name=sr>[https://web.archive.org/web/20200417171515/https://www.sports-reference.com/olympics/athletes/de/ronnie-delany-1.html Ron Delany]. sports-reference.com</ref><ref name=tf>[http://trackfield.brinkster.net/Profile.asp?ID=1511&Gender=M Ronald Delany]. sports-reference.com</ref>
| medaltemplates = 
{{MedalCountry|{{IRL}}}}
{{MedalCompetition|[[Olympic Games]]}}
{{MedalGold|[[1956 Summer Olympics|1956 Melbourne]]|[[Athletics at the 1956 Summer Olympics|1500 metres]]}}
{{MedalCompetition|[[European Championships in Athletics|European Championships]]}}
{{MedalBronze|[[1958 European Athletics Championships|1958 Stockholm]]|1500 metres}}
{{MedalCompetition|[[Universiade|World University Games]]}}
{{MedalGold|[[Athletics at the 1961 Summer Universiade|1961 Sofia]]|800 metres}}
| show-medals    = 
| updated        = 29 July 2012
}}

'''Ronald Michael Delany''' (born 6 March 1935) is an Irish former [[Athletics (sport)|athlete]] who specialised in middle-distance running. He won a gold medal in the [[Athletics at the 1956 Summer Olympics – Men's 1500 metres|1500 metres at the 1956 Summer Olympics]]. He later earned a bronze medal in the 1500 metres event at the [[1958 European Athletics Championships]] in [[Stockholm]].

Delany also competed at the [[1954 European Athletics Championships]] in [[Bern]] and the [[Athletics at the 1960 Summer Olympics|1960 Summer Olympics]], though he was less successful on these occasions. He retired from competitive athletics in 1962. Delany is one of Ireland's most recognisable Olympians and international ambassadors.<ref name=ucd_2006/>

== Early life ==

Born in [[Arklow]], [[County Wicklow]], Delany moved with his family to [[Sandymount]], [[Dublin 4]] when he was six. Delany later went to the [[Congregation of Christian Brothers|Christian Brothers]]' [[O'Connell School]], [[North Richmond Street]] (where there are all-weather, floodlit sports facilities named in his honour), to [[Sandymount High School]] and to [[Catholic University School]]. At Catholic University School (CUS), Delany was first coached by [[Jack Sweeney (mathematics teacher)]], to whom he sent a telegram from Melbourne stating "We did it Jack".<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.rte.ie/archives/exhibitions/1916-amateur-films/486199-ronnie-delany/ | title=Ronnie Delany Returns to Old School 1956 | publisher=RTE | access-date=5 December 2020 }}</ref> Delany in 2008 said about Sweeney, "Other people would have seen my potential but he was the one who in effect helped me execute my potential".<ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.irishtimes.com/sport/an-education-that-had-a-kick-towards-the-end-of-a-mile-1.906978 |title = An education that had a kick towards the end of a mile |first=SEAN |last=Kenny
|date=26 March 2008 |newspaper=[[Irish Times]]}}</ref>

Delany studied commerce and finance at [[Villanova University]] in the United States.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/vault/article/magazine/MAG1132752/1/index.htm|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121112122551/http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/vault/article/magazine/MAG1132752/1/index.htm|url-status=dead|archive-date=12 November 2012|title=A New Irish Hero Goes Home|newspaper=Sports Illustrated |date=21 January 1957}}</ref> While there he was coached by the well-known track coach [[Jumbo Elliott (coach)|Jumbo Elliott]].

== Career ==

Delany's first achievement of note was reaching the final of the 800 metres at the [[1954 European Athletics Championships]] in [[Bern]]. In 1956, he became the seventh runner to join the club of [[four-minute mile]]rs, but nonetheless, he struggled to make the Irish team for the [[1956 Summer Olympics]], held in [[Melbourne]].

Delany qualified for the Olympic 1,500 metres final, in which local runner [[John Landy]] was the favourite. Delany kept close to Landy until the final lap, when Delany started a crushing final sprint, winning the race in a new Olympic record.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.olympic.org/uk/athletes/results/search_r_uk.asp|title=Olympic medal winners|work=Olympic.org}}</ref> Delany thereby became the first Irishman to win an Olympic gold medal in athletics since [[Bob Tisdall]] and [[Pat O'Callaghan]] in 1932. The Irish people learned of its new champion at breakfast time.<ref name=meath_eggs>{{cite news|url=http://www.irishidentity.com/extras/famousgaels/stories/delany.htm|title=Growing up on Meath eggs|work=Irish Identity|quote=As for media coverage of the Melbourne Olympics, there was only one travelling journalist from this country, [[Arthur P. McWeeney]] of the [[Irish Independent]], and people back home depended on the old [[BBC Light Programme]] for live coverage on the radio. Delany’s 1,500 metres victory was relayed to Ireland at breakfast time. Just imagine the excitement on that crackling machine as the Irishman raced to glory.}}</ref> Delany was Ireland's last Olympic champion for 36 years, until [[Michael Carruth]] won the gold medal in boxing at the [[1992 Summer Olympics]] in Barcelona.

Delany won the British [[AAA Championships]] title in the 880 yards event at the [[1957 AAA Championships]]<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0003359/19570714/248/0014 |title=AAA Championship results |work=Weekly Dispatch (London) |date=14 July 1957 |via=British Newspaper Archive|url-access=subscription |access-date=1 May 2025}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.nuts.org.uk/Champs/AAA/index.htm |title=AAA, WAAA and National Championships Medallists |website=National Union of Track Statisticians |access-date=1 May 2025}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.gbrathletics.com/bc/aaa.htm |title=AAA Championships (men) |website=GBR Athletics |access-date=1 May 2025}}</ref> and won the bronze medal in the 1,500 metres event at the [[1958 European Athletics Championships]]. He went on to represent Ireland once again at the [[1960 Summer Olympics]] held in [[Rome]], this time in the 800 metres. He finished sixth in his quarter-final heat.

Delany continued his running career in North America, winning four successive [[Amateur Athletic Union|AAU]] titles in the mile, adding to his total of four Irish national titles, and three [[National Collegiate Athletic Association|NCAA]] titles. He was next to unbeatable on indoor tracks over that period, which included a 40-race winning streak. He broke the World Indoor Mile Record on three occasions. In 1961 Delany won the gold medal in the [[Athletics at the 1961 Summer Universiade|World University games]] in [[Sofia, Bulgaria]]. He retired from competitive running in 1962.<ref name=meath_eggs/>

== Retirement ==

After retiring from competition, Delany first worked in the United States for the Irish airline [[Aer Lingus]]. After that, for almost 20 years, he was Assistant Chief Executive of [[British and Irish Steam Packet Company|B&I Line]], responsible for marketing and operations of the Irish ferry company based in Dublin. In 1998, he established his own company focused on marketing and sports consultancy.<ref name=sr/> Ron Delany coached athletics for a period at Franciscan College Gormanston in the 1960s.

== Honours ==

In 2006, Delany was granted the [[Freedom of the City of Dublin]].<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.rte.ie/news/2006/0305/dublin.html?rss |title=Geldof, Delany receive Dublin honour |work=RTÉ Sport |date=5 March 2006 |access-date=5 March 2006 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121013085150/http://www.rte.ie/news/2006/0305/dublin.html?rss |archive-date=13 October 2012 }}</ref> He was also conferred with an honorary Doctor of Laws Degree by [[University College Dublin]] in 2006.<ref name=ucd_2006>{{cite news|url=http://www.ucd.ie/news/dec06/120506_ronnie_delany.htm|title=Ireland's most famous Olympian, Ronnie Delany honoured by UCD|work=UCD|date=5 December 2006|access-date=5 December 2006}}</ref> In 2019, a housing scheme in Arklow, where Delany was born, was named [[Delany Park]] in his honour. He attended the opening in person.<ref>{{cite news|date=25 October 2019|title=Fifty five new homes were opened in Arklow|work=[[Wicklow#News media|Wicklow News]]|url=https://wicklownews.net/2019/10/fifty-five-new-homes-were-opened-in-arklow/|access-date=30 Aug 2020}}</ref>  Similarly, two streets in [[Strabane]] in [[Northern Ireland]] were named [[Delaney Crescent]] and [[Olympic Drive]] in the 1950s in his honour – however, Delany was not aware of these until it was pointed out that his surname had been spelt wrongly.<ref>{{cite web |title=Ronnie Delany: Irish Olympic legend learns of Strabane streets named after him 63 years on |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/athletics/52739364 |website=BBC Sport |date=20 May 2020|access-date=20 May 2020}}</ref>

==References==

{{Commons category|Ron Delany}}
{{reflist}}

{{Footer Olympic Champions 1500 m Men}}
{{Footer Universiade Champions 800m Men}}
{{Footer US NC Indoor Mile Men}}
{{Footer Collegiate Track Field Cross Country Athlete Hall of Fame}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Delany, Ron}}
[[Category:1935 births]]
[[Category:Athletes (track and field) at the 1956 Summer Olympics]]
[[Category:Athletes (track and field) at the 1960 Summer Olympics]]
[[Category:European Athletics Championships medalists]]
[[Category:Irish men middle-distance runners]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:Medalists at the 1956 Summer Olympics]]
[[Category:Medalists at the 1961 Summer Universiade]]
[[Category:Olympic athletes for Ireland]]
[[Category:Olympic gold medalists for Ireland]]
[[Category:Olympic gold medalists in athletics]]
[[Category:People from Arklow]]
[[Category:Athletes from County Wicklow]]
[[Category:FISU World University Games gold medalists for Ireland]]
[[Category:Universiade medalists in athletics (track and field)]]
[[Category:Villanova Wildcats men's track and field athletes]]
[[Category:NCAA Division I Outdoor Track and Field Championships winners]]
[[Category:20th-century Irish sportsmen]]