- Not to be confused with John J. Kelley, another distance runner, similarly-named.
John Adelbert "Johnny" Kelley (September 6, 1907 – October 6, 2004) was an American long-distance runner who twice represented his native country at the Summer Olympics, in 1936 and 1948.
Born in West Medford, Massachusetts, one of ten children, he won the 1935 and 1945 runnings of the Boston Marathon. He was a second place finisher at Boston seven times, and competed in a record 61 Boston Marathons. Kelley ran track and cross-country at Arlington High School in Massachusetts. His PR for the mile is around 4:40, set in high school. He dropped out of his first marathon and also did not finish his first Boston Marathon in 1928, but he had success at shorter races at the time.
A legend of the marathon, Kelley made his mark as a true endurance athlete. In the seventeen years from 1934 to 1950, he finished in the top five 15 times at Boston, consistently running in the 2:30s. He ran his last full marathon at Boston in 1992 at the age of 84, his 61st start and 58th finish there. For two more years he ran the last seven miles. Kelley also ran the Yonkers Marathon 29 times.
Kelley was a member of the U.S. Olympic Team that attended the Berlin Games of 1936. He finished 18th in the marathon, never really in contention for a medal. A highlight of the games for him was meeting the legendary Greek runner Spiridon Louis, the winner of the marathon in the first modern Olympic Games, held in Athens in 1896.
In 1993, a statue of Kelley to commemorate him was erected near the City Hall of Newton, Massachusetts, on the Boston Marathon course, one hill and about one mile prior to the foot of Heartbreak Hill.[1]
Kelley was named "Runner of the Century" by Runner's World magazine in 2000.
John A. Kelley should not be confused with 1957 Boston Marathon winner John J. Kelley, who bears no relation. In an effort to distinguish them, the two champions came to be known as "Kelley the Elder" and "Kelley the Younger", respectively.[2]
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See also
Notes
- ^ The Boston Globe: At Heartbreak Hill, a salute to a marathoner for the ages, April 19, 1993 The Globe writer erroneously refers to the statue's location as the foot of Heartbreak Hill. The statue's site, at Commonwealth Avenue and Walnut Street,[1] near Newton City Hall, is at mile 19.2 on the course, while the foot of Heartbreak Hill is at or near 20.4 miles (Boston Athletic Association "Welcome" booklet, April 18, 2005, p. 20).
- ^ New York Times obituary, October 8, 2004 Retrieved 2008-03-19
References
External links
- Profile at www.sports-reference.com
- Obituary at ESPN
- Photo story and obituary in the Boston Globe Retrieved 2008-03-19
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