Connolly

Country: United States

Date of birth: 28-10-1868

Birthplace: Boston

Discipline: High jump,long jump and triple jump

Olympic Games (4 medals - 1 gold, 2 silver, 1 bronze)

High jump: 2nd (1896)

Long jump: 3rd (1896)

Triple jump: 1st (1896), 2nd (1900)

A 27-year-old Harvard freshman, James Connolly turned up at Athens in 1896 as the American record holder in the triple jump. Born into a down-at-heel Irish-American family, his request for leave of absence from Harvard was considered, and declined.

Despite further trouble with the change of the hop-skip-and-jump to the hop-hop-and-jump, something he had not performed since his schooldays, Connolly outperformed his nearest rival, Alexandre Tuffere of France, by over a yard. That effort made him the first Olympic champion for 1503 years and started a tradition of Harvard students representing America at every Summer Games since 1896.

In 1948 Harvard offered him an honorary degree, which he politely declined.

Following his athletics career Connolly became a well-known journalist. He died, aged 88, on January 20, 1957.