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Denis Horgan

Denis Horgan
Horgan depicted on an Ogden's cigarette card, 1902
Personal information
Born18 May 1871
Banteer, County Cork
Died2 June 1922 (aged 51)
Crookstown, Cork
Sport
SportAthletics
EventShot put
Medal record
Representing  Great Britain
Men's athletics
Silver medal – second place 1908 London Shot put

Denis Horgan (18 May 1871 – 2 June 1922) was a champion Irish athlete and weight thrower, born in Banteer, County Cork, who competed mainly in the shot put.[1]

Biography

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Shortly after setting a world record of 48 feet 2 inches with the 16 pound shot at Queenstown,[citation needed] in County Cork, Ireland in 1897, Horgan visited the U.S., and in 1900, he joined the Greater New York Irish Athletic Association, the predecessor of the Irish American Athletic Club for a brief period.[2] In 1905, he joined the rival New York Athletic Club.[citation needed]

In 1906, Horgan set the world's record for the 28 pound shot, with a distance of 35 feet, 4.5 inches at the Ancient Order of Hibernians games held at Celtic Park in Queens, New York.[3]

He competed for Great Britain in the 1908 Summer Olympics he London in the shot put, where he won the silver medal.[1]

Horgan won 13 British AAA Championships titles from 1893 to 1912.[4] The win at the 1893 AAA Championships was the first of seven consecutive shot put titles.[5][6][7]

Horgan won a total 42 shot put titles during his athletic career, including 28 Irish championships,[citation needed] and one American championship.[citation needed] Horgan was "usually so superior to his fellow competitors that he seldom trained in any sort of systematic way, yet he showed a marked consistency of performance, in all conditions, over a period of twenty years."[8]

He emigrated to America, where he worked as a police officer.[citation needed] Whilst attempting to rescue a fellow Irishman, he was severely stabbed and left for dead.[citation needed] After he recovered, he returned to Ireland, married, and settled in Crookstown.[9]

References

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  1. ^ a b "Denis Horgan". Olympedia. Retrieved 13 March 2021.
  2. ^ Katchen, Alan (2008). Abel Kiviat, National Champion: Twentieth-Century Track & Field and the Melting Pot. Syracuse, New York: Syracuse University Press. ISBN 978-0-8156-0939-1.
  3. ^ NY Daily Tribune, Sunday 26 August 1906 [full citation needed]
  4. ^ "AAA, WAAA and National Championships Medallists". National Union of Track Statisticians. Retrieved 26 July 2024.
  5. ^ "Athletics". Morning Post. 3 July 1893. Retrieved 26 July 2024 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  6. ^ "The Amateur Athletic Association". Sporting Life. 3 July 1893. Retrieved 26 July 2024 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  7. ^ "The Amateur Championships". Daily News (London). 4 July 1904. Retrieved 17 August 2024 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  8. ^ Dooley, William (1946). Champions of the Athletic Arena. Dublin: General Publicity Services.
  9. ^ "A Great Irish Athlete". Dublin Evening Telegraph. 2 June 1922.
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