View source for Johnny Hayes

{{Short description|American athlete (1886–1965)}}
{{other people||John Hayes (disambiguation)}}
{{Distinguish|Jonny Hayes}}
{{Infobox sportsperson
|name=
|image=Johnny Hayes 1908.jpg
|caption=Johnny Hayes in 1908
|birth_name=John Joseph Hayes
|birth_date=April 10, 1886 
|birth_place= [[New York City|New York City, New York]], U.S.
| death_date = August 25, 1965 (aged 79)
| death_place = [[Englewood, New Jersey]], U.S. 
| height = {{convert|1.62|m|ftin|abbr=on}}
| weight = {{convert|55|kg|lb|abbr=on}}
|sport=Athletics
|event= [[Marathon]]
|club=I-AAC, Queens
|pb= Marathon – 2:26:04 (1908) (at 24 mile distance)<!-- note: 1:53.8 800m attributed to him seems to be a mistake --><ref name=r1/><ref name=r4/> 
|alma_mater=
| show-medals    = yes
| medaltemplates = 
{{MedalCountry | the {{USA}} }}
{{MedalCompetition | [[Olympic Games]]}}
{{MedalGold|[[1908 Summer Olympics|1908 London]]|[[Athletics at the 1908 Summer Olympics – Men's marathon|Marathon]]}}
}}
[[Image:Johnny Hayes.jpg|175px|thumb|right|Johnny Hayes, wearing the Winged Fist of the [[Irish American Athletic Club]], posing for a studio portrait shortly after his 1908 [[Olympic Marathon]] victory]]

[[Image:Nenagh olympic.jpg|thumb|left|Statue of Hayes and two other Olympic gold medalists ([[Matt McGrath]] and [[Bob Tisdall]]) in [[Nenagh]], Co Tipperary, Ireland]]

'''John Joseph Hayes''' (April 10, 1886 – August 25, 1965) was an American [[Athletics (sport)|athlete]], a member of the [[Irish American Athletic Club]], and winner of the [[Athletics at the 1908 Summer Olympics – Men's marathon|marathon race at the 1908 Summer Olympics]]. Hayes' Olympic victory contributed to the early growth of long-distance running and marathoning in the United States.<ref>{{cite book|title=The World 1910 Almanac and Encyclopedia |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=cGA3AAAAMAAJ&pg=PP7|year=1909 |publisher=Press Publishing Company |location=New York |pages=384–385 |chapter=Track and Field Athletics |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=cGA3AAAAMAAJ&pg=PA384}}</ref><ref name="Whorton">{{cite book |last1=Whorton |first1=James C. |editor1-first=Jack W. |editor1-last=Berryman |editor2-first=Robert J. |editor2-last=Park |title=Sport and Exercise Science: Essays in the History of Sports Medicine |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=TVklQ4FX76wC|year=1992  |publisher=University of Illinois Press  |isbn=9780252062421 |page=127 |chapter="Athlete's Heart": The Medical Debate over Athleticism, 1870–1920 |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=TVklQ4FX76wC&pg=PA109}}</ref>  He was also the first man to win a marathon at the now official standard distance of 26 miles 385 yards when Olympic officials lengthened the distance to put the finish line in front of the Royal Box (the 1896 and 1904 Olympic marathons had been less than 25 miles long).<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.olympedia.org/athletes/78532 |title=Johnny Hayes |work=Olympedia |access-date=8 March 2021}}</ref>

==Biography==
Born in [[New York City]] to a family of [[Ireland|Irish]] emigrants (from [[Nenagh]] in [[County Tipperary]]), Johnny Hayes is probably best known for winning the controversial marathon race at the London Olympics. Hayes is one of only three male American athletes to win the [[Olympic Marathon]], (the other two being [[Thomas Hicks (athlete)|Thomas Hicks]] in [[1904 Summer Olympics|1904]] and  [[Frank Shorter]] in [[1972 Summer Olympics|1972]]).

In 1905, he joined Bloomingdale Brothers as an assistant to the manager of the sporting goods department. At night, he trained on a cinder track on the roof of the [[Bloomingdales]] building in New York. He was promoted to manager of the department after returning from his Olympic victory.<ref>''New York Times:''  25 July 1908.</ref>

Hayes started his athletics career with a fifth-place finish at the 1906 [[Boston Marathon]], running for the St. Bartholemew Athletic Club in a time of 2:55:38.<ref>[http://www.wingedfist.com/hayes.html 1910 Mecca Cigarettes Champion Athlete and Prize Fighter Series trading card]. wingedfist.com</ref> He improved on that the following year by finishing third in [[Boston Marathon|Boston]] with a time of 2:30:38 and winning the inaugural [[Yonkers Marathon]].<ref name=r1/><ref name="Cooper">{{cite book |last1=Cooper |first1=Pamela |title=The American Marathon |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=cSPF71aP0qsC |year=1999 |publisher=Syracuse University Press |location=Syracuse, New York |isbn=9780815605737 |chapter=The New York City Marathon Culture |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=cSPF71aP0qsC&pg=PA27}}</ref> In 1908 he finished second, 21 seconds behind Thomas Morrissey in the [[Boston Marathon]] with a time of 2:26:04 and thus qualified for the [[Olympic Games]] held in [[London]] that same year.<ref>2008 Boston Marathon Media Guide.</ref>

The British Olympic Association wanted to start the race in front of [[Windsor Castle]] and finish in front of the royal reviewing stand at the [[White City Stadium]]. As a result, the distance was 26&nbsp;miles and 385&nbsp;yards (42.195&nbsp;km). It took until 1921 for the [[IAAF]] to codify that distance as the official length of the marathon. Prior to this, races were usually about 25 miles (40&nbsp;km). He died in 1965.

==1908 Olympic victory==
{{main|Athletics at the 1908 Summer Olympics – Men's marathon}}
At the race itself, [[Dorando Pietri]] from [[Italy]] was the first to enter the stadium. But Pietri had depleted himself to open a more than 10 minute lead over the field and was suffering extreme fatigue and [[dehydration]]. When he entered the stadium, he took the wrong path, and when umpires redirected him, he fell down for the first time. He got up with their help in front of 75,000 spectators.

Pietri fell four more times, and each time, the umpires helped him up. He managed to finish the race first, with a time of 2h 54min 46s. During all these stumbles and the direct aid from the officials, Hayes had now entered the stadium, finishing the race second, with a time of 2h 55min 18s.
[[Image:Hayes shore ac sm.jpg|thumb|left|Hayes running in the White Stadium near the finish line]]
Pietri was disqualified after the US officials filed a protest. Despite the official result, Pietri achieved much more fame than Hayes when [[Alexandra of Denmark|Queen Alexandra]] awarded him a special silver cup.<ref name=r1/>

All of the Olympic officials were British, and the Pietri incident joined a list of other controversial calls in the 1908 Olympics, prompting the International Olympic Committee to start appointing judges from a wide variety of countries instead of only the host country.

After the dramatic Olympic battle between Pietri and Hayes, public interest was such that a match race was organized by professional promoters in November 1908 at [[Madison Square Garden (1890)|Madison Square Garden]]. Pietri won the race by 75 yards. A second match race was held on March 15, 1909, and again Pietri won. Both Pietri and Hayes turned professional after the Olympics and achieved great fame.<ref name=r1/>

Hayes was a trainer for the US [[1912 Summer Olympics|1912 Olympic]] team. He later taught physical education and was a food broker. Johnny Hayes died in [[Englewood, New Jersey]].<ref name=r1/>

The Shore Athletic Club of New Jersey (Shore AC) holds the Johnny Hayes collection as lifetime trustees. Included in the collection are numerous trophies, as well as the 1908 Olympic gold medal for the marathon. This represents the first Olympic gold medal to be won at the modern marathon distance of 26 miles, 385 yards.

Johnny Hayes was a guest on the television show ''[[I've Got a Secret]]'' as one of five former Olympic champions, which aired on October 13, 1954.
<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J53sKpG9h54 |title=I've Got a Secret (10/13/1954) Boris Karloff |publisher=YouTube |access-date=2019-11-15}}{{cbignore}}{{Dead YouTube link|date=February 2022}}</ref>

In 2002, three statues honoring Olympic champions with links to Nenagh, [[Matt McGrath]], Johnny Hayes and [[Bob Tisdall]], were unveiled in front of the [[Nenagh Courthouse]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.independent.ie/regionals/newrossstandard/news/by-peter-gleeson-27449016.html|title=By Peter Gleeson|date=5 September 2002|publisher=New Ross Standard|access-date=16 November 2019}}</ref>

==See also==
[[Dorando Pietri]]

==References==
;Specific
{{reflist|refs=
<ref name=r1>[https://web.archive.org/web/20200417171406/https://www.sports-reference.com/olympics/athletes/ha/johnny-hayes-1.html Johnny Hayes]. sports-reference.com</ref>
<ref name=r4>[http://trackfield.brinkster.net/Profile.asp?ID=15003&Gender=M John Hayes]. trackfield.brinkster.net</ref>
}}
;General
*{{cite book |author=Boston Athletic Association |title=2008 Boston Marathon Media Guide |publisher=[[Boston Athletic Association]] / John Hancock |location=Boston |date=21 April 2008 |url=http://www.johnhancock.com/resources/pdf/2008mediaguide.pdf |access-date=2009-01-04 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110524212158/http://www.johnhancock.com/resources/pdf/2008mediaguide.pdf |archive-date=24 May 2011 }} 
*{{cite book|author=Cook, Theodore Andrea |title=The Fourth Olympiad London 1908 Official Report |publisher=[[British Olympic Association]] |location=London |date=May 1909 |url=http://www.la84foundation.org/6oic/OfficialReports/1908/1908.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070927222443/http://www.la84foundation.org/6oic/OfficialReports/1908/1908.pdf |url-status=dead |archive-date=2007-09-27 |access-date=2008-12-29 }}
* {{cite web | last = De Wael | first = Herman | year = 2001 | url = http://users.skynet.be/hermandw/olymp/ath1908.html | title = Athletics 1908 | work = Herman's Full Olympians | access-date = 2008-12-29 | archive-date = 2006-09-27 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20060927093153/http://users.skynet.be/hermandw/olymp/ath1908.html | url-status = dead }}
* {{cite book | last = Greenberg | first = Stan | year = 1987 | title = Olympic Games: The Records | publisher = Guinness Books | location = London | isbn = 0-85112-896-3 | url-access = registration | url = https://archive.org/details/olympicgamesreco00gree }}
* [https://languageinstinct.blogspot.com/2010/03/story-of-marathon.html ''The Story of the Marathon'']

==External links==
{{Commons category}}
* [http://www.runningpast.com/johnny_hayes.htm Running Past profile]
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20160413231350/http://www.nyu.edu/library/bobst/research/aia/primarydocs/iaac/iaac01.htm Irish America Archives – NYU]
*[http://www.wingedfist.org Winged Fist Organization]
*{{sports links}}

{{s-start}}
{{s-ach|rec}}
{{succession box|before= record established|
title=[[Marathon world best progression|
Men's Marathon World Record Holder]]|
years=July 24, 1908 – January 1, 1909|
after={{flagicon|USA}} [[Robert Fowler (athlete)|Robert Fowler]]}}
{{s-end}}
{{2008 National Distance Running Hall of Fame inductees}}
{{Footer Olympic Champions Marathon Men}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hayes, Johnny}}
[[Category:1886 births]]
[[Category:1965 deaths]]
[[Category:Track and field athletes from New York City]]
[[Category:American men marathon runners]]
[[Category:Athletes (track and field) at the 1908 Summer Olympics]]
[[Category:Olympic gold medalists for the United States in track and field]]
[[Category:World record setters in the sport of athletics]]
[[Category:Medalists at the 1908 Summer Olympics]]
[[Category:American people of Irish descent]]
[[Category:20th-century American sportsmen]]