Arthur Vincent Roth (December 4, 1891 – October 10, 1950)[nb 1] was an American long-distance runner who won the 1916 Boston Marathon and competed in the men's marathon at the 1920 Summer Olympics.[4]
Roth was born in Dorchester, Massachusetts.[5] In 1912 and 1913, he competed primarily in 10-mile road races.[5] Roth competed in the 1913 New York Evening Mail Modified Marathon and placed 31st out of 1,500 runners.[5]
In 1914, he finished fifth at the Boston Marathon and was reported to have been from Roxbury, Massachusetts.[6][7] Representing the Mohawk Athletic Club, he won a five-mile race put on the Bronxdale Athletic Club in February 1915 (27:04).[8] Three months later in May 1915, Roth finished fifth in a ten-mile contest through the streets of Jersey City and Hoboken that was sponsored by The Jersey Journal.[9]
By 1916, Roth was reported to be a "tracer in an architect's office".[5] On February 22 of that year, he won a 25-mile-marathon in Brooklyn, New York, in a time of 2:48:40.[10] Representing the Dorchester Club at the 1916 Boston Marathon two months later, Roth became the first Boston resident to win the event.[5] He was given a silver punch bowl for his victory.[11] The bowl was eventually loaned to the Boston Athletic Association after a BAA intern observed it being used to hold beer cans at a party.[11]
In February 1917, Roth finished third in a 25-mile race in Brooklyn, New York (2:43:35).[12] Later that year, he finished fourth in a 25.5 mile race in Brockton, Massachusetts.[12]
The 1920 Boston Marathon served as one of the selection races for the United States Olympic Team at the 1920 Summer Olympics in Antwerp, Belgium.[13] Roth, this time competing for the St. Alphonsus Association, secured a spot on the team by finishing second to Panayotis "Peter" Trivoulidas of Greece in a time of 2:30:31.[13][14][15] At the Olympic marathon on August 22, he lined-up with competitors from 17 nations, but failed to finish the race after dropping out 14.5 miles into the race.[13][16]
On October 11, 1950, Roth died at his home in Natick, Massachusetts.[3]