Jim Hogan
Medal record
Men's athletics
Representing  Great Britain
European Championships
Gold medal – first place 1966 Budapest Marathon

James Joseph Hogan (né Cregan; 28 May 1933 – 10 January 2015) was an Irish distance runner who competed for both Ireland and Great Britain.[1] He was born in Croom, County Limerick, Ireland.[2] Hogan's athletic career saw him compete for Ireland at the 1964 Summer Olympics in Tokyo and for Great Britain at the 1968 Summer Olympics in Mexico City.[3] He was also the only Irish athlete to win the European marathon title.[4]

Biography

Hogan was born as Jim Cregan in Croom, County Limerick, Ireland in May 1933.[5] In his youth, he had some success in cross-country running in Ireland.[1] However, he initially retired from the sport at the age of 26, and moved to England in 1960.[1] Once in England, he took up running again, and changed his surname by deed poll from Cregan to Hogan, with the goal of competing in running events in England.[1] While running in England, his performances were noticed by selectors for the Irish Olympic team, who picked him to compete at the 1964 Summer Olympics.[1]

Hogan competed at two Olympic Games.[4] At the 1964 Summer Olympics in Tokyo, Hogan represented Ireland in the men's 10,000 metres and the men's marathon,[6] but did not finish either race.[7][8] Despite not finishing in the marathon, Hogan kept pace with the eventual winner, Abebe Bikila, until he was forced to withdraw from the race due to dehydration.[9]

Hogan felt both disillusioned and discriminated against for being an Irish athlete living in England, so he switched to compete for Great Britain.[1] He won the marathon title at the 1966 European Championships.[2] Two years later, at the 1968 Summer Olympics in Mexico City, Hogan represented Great Britain in the men's 10,000 metres, where he finished in 26th place.[10]

After setting multiple World and European distance records in athletics,[1][11] he returned to live in County Limerick to train horses.[12] He died there in January 2015, at the age of 81.[13] A biography of his life, titled "The Irishman who ran for England" was published before he died.[14]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g "Jim Hogan". Olympedia. Retrieved 24 May 2022.
  2. ^ a b O'Riordan, Ian (11 January 2015). "Former Olympian Jim Hogan passes away". The Irish Times.
  3. ^ Evans, Hilary; Gjerde, Arild; Heijmans, Jeroen; Mallon, Bill; et al. "Jim Hogan". Olympics at Sports-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on 27 June 2011.
  4. ^ a b "Limerick athlete who struck gold as a marathon runner". The Irish Times. Retrieved 24 May 2022.
  5. ^ "Limerick's Jim Hogan, a man who fulfilled his potential wearing a Great Britain singlet". Limerick Post. Retrieved 24 May 2022.
  6. ^ "A Fallible and Dedicated Running Life Remembered". Runner's World. Retrieved 24 May 2022.
  7. ^ "10,000 metres, Men (1964)". Olympedia. Retrieved 24 May 2022.
  8. ^ "Marathon, Men (1964)". Olympedia. Retrieved 24 May 2022.
  9. ^ "Jim Hogan — how a barefoot runner from Limerick ended up winning gold for Britain". Medium.com. Retrieved 24 May 2022.
  10. ^ "10,000 metres, Men (1968)". Olympedia. Retrieved 24 May 2022.
  11. ^ "Encomium To A Legend: Jim Hogan - A Rare Breed". Lets Run. Retrieved 24 May 2022.
  12. ^ "Former trainer Jim Hogan passes away, aged 81". The Irish Field. Retrieved 24 May 2022.
  13. ^ "Remembering Jim Hogan – the passing of a true running legend". Jumping the Gun. Retrieved 24 May 2022.
  14. ^ "RIP Jim Hogan 1933-2015". Olympic Federation of Ireland. Retrieved 24 May 2022.

External links

European Athletics Championships champions in men's marathon / half marathon
Authority control databases
Categories