Ronald Michael Delany (born 6 March 1935), better known as Ron or Ronnie is a former Irish athlete, who specialised in middle distance running.
Born in Arklow, Delany moved with his family to Dublin when he was 6. His father had got a job in Jacobs Biscuit Factory and there Delany went to Catholic University School.
Delany studied in the United States at Villanova University, where he was coached by the well-known track coach Jumbo Elliott. His f...
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Ronald Michael Delany (born 6 March 1935), better known as Ron or Ronnie is a former Irish athlete, who specialised in middle distance running.
Born in Arklow, Delany moved with his family to Dublin when he was 6. His father had got a job in Jacobs Biscuit Factory and there Delany went to Catholic University School.
Delany studied in the United States at Villanova University, where he was coached by the well-known track coach Jumbo Elliott. His first achievement of note was reaching the final of the 800m at the 1954 European Championships in Berne.
In 1956, he became the seventh runner to join the club of Four-minute milers, but nonetheless struggled to make the Irish team for the 1956 Summer Olympics held in Melbourne.
Delany qualified for the Olympic 1500 m final, in which home runner John Landy was the big favourite. Delany kept close to Landy until the final lap, when he started a crushing final sprint, winning the race in a new Olympic Record . Delany thereby became the first...
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