Other Sports

Ronnie Delaney recalls his memorable Olympic Gold medal win in 1956

March 26th, 2002
by Weeshie Fogarty

 It all began for me with a simple phone call one evening five years ago. Paudie o Shea was on the line, "Weeshie any chance you could attend the launch of my football tournament in the Burlington in two weeks time". I had always found the Kerry great a very easy man to deal with, both as a player and as trainer of the Kerry team, always available to stand for an interview and to refuse him a turn would be out of the question. And then he added, "you might get some great interviews on the night and one man who will be there is Ronnie Delaney". I must admit my heart skipped a beat when the name Ronnie Delaney was mentioned and the possibility that I might even meet him. Straight away Paudie got his reply, "Count me in I will be in the Burlington for your launch". Incidentally I was also in attendance a month ago when the Ventry man launch his 14th Paudie o Se football weekend.

And so it came about, the foyer of the Burlington was packed with celebrities on the night of the launch and there in the middle of the crowd was the unmistakable figure of my boyhood hero, Ronnie Delaney. Tall slight of built, impeccably dressed in a light blue suit, shirt and tie, the hair now graying but there was a unique freshness about him, typical of a great athlete who had not abused the body with the demon drink and junk food. Seeing him in the flesh for the first time my mind raced back to that never to be forgotten early morning of December 1956.

It was a completely different world in that ere of mass emigration and frugal living fifty years ago this year. Television was unknown and the great sporting events of the world and indeed here at home came to us curtsy of our radios and indeed coverage of sporting events was as scarce as hens teeth. We had an old Bush radio perched at head height in the kitchen of our home at forty new Street Killarney, now the site of that superb restaurant Chapter Forty. And it was on that radio that my brother Genie and I listened to Ronnie Delaney achieves what is accepted as Ireland's greatest ever sporting victory. The crackling often distant race commentary from the other side of the world will for ever remain as one of my fondest sporting memories. And with the English commentator description of the finish reaching fever pitch two small boys in a small little kitchen in New Street jumped for joy. It was the first time in our lives that we had heard an Irish person winning a world event.

"And its Delaney, Delaney of Ireland is going to win the gold, Richtzenhain of Germany will be second, John Landy of Australia will take the bronze and finishing fourth out of the medals is our own Ian Boyd of Great Britain". And then the commentator said an extraordinary thing, some thing that has always remained etched in my memory for some reason. "And Delaney is kneeling down on the track just past the finishing line, he is blessing himself as the other runners crowd around him offering their congratulations to the Irishman and new Olympic champion Ronnie Delaney". Even in his greatest moment Delaney offered his thanks in prayer.

Now I approached him in the Burlington and excused myself for interrupting as he was in conversation. His response to my approach was say how glad he was to meet some one from radio Kerry sports. (I have always found that when you mention the words Kerry sports to any sporting personality it opens up many doors of conversation). Ronnie Delaney is the supreme gentleman and despite the fact that he must be inundated with requests for interviews he immediately replied that he would be delighted to talk to me. Nevertheless he did add, "We better do it now because I will be leaving immediately after the launch takes place".

I sought out a quite corner and there in his low gentle voice he brought me back to that never to be forgotten day in Melbourne when he wrote himself into history's sporting pages. Indeed that very interview is now available to one and all on the Terrace Talk web site and receives many hits as people from all around the world continue to be fascinated by that victory half a century ago.

Delaney was studying at Villanova University in America at the time and some Irish officials perceived the "collegiate champion as a type of professional sportsman" who was effectively being paid for running in America. Remember this was 1956 and everything was utterly different and even the fact that he had taken up the scholarship was frowned upon by many of the old guard in Ireland. And when it came to decide who would repesent Ireland and on a split decision Ronnie was selected by just one vote. However he told me that if the vote had been split he was confident that Lord Killanin, President of the OCI would have made the final decision and given him the go ahead. Nevertheless all this is now pure speculation. The rest is history.

As people continued to crowd around us just wanting to meet this icon of Irish sport in this so called quiet corner of the Burlington I steered the conversation back to 1956. He had been asking me about the legendary Casey's of Sneem; with whom he was great friends with and had unveiled the bronze statue in the village some years previously to Steve Casey the world wrestling champion. He spoke about our great runners Tom o Riordan and Gerry Kiernan and was particularly interested in the progress of Gillian o Sullivan. Paudie o Se and he had become great friends and he visited Kerry on a fairly regular basis.

I had always heard that Ronnie never set out to break records, so I put this to him. "I was very fortunate to come under the tutelage of the great coach Jumbo Elliott and he improved my style of running greatly" he replied. "I always had a strict run –to-win attitude. Record chasing was not my game which did not go down too well with the American fans; I even hated and detested time trials in training. About a year before the games I really felt I could become an Olympian and six months before the race I ran a four minute mile in California. I was only the sixth man ever to break the barrier and the youngest ever. I knew then in my heart that I could win a gold medal."

And what about the greatest day of his sporting life. What were his memories? They were crystal clear. "The day I had lived for dawned bright and warm, it was difficult to remain calm but I tried as best I could. I resigned myself quietly to the will of God and prayed not so much for victory but the grace to run up to my capabilities". I took up the outside position at the start of the race, I was very comfortable because no one was making a break at that early stage and the whole field was bunched together in about ten yards. At about the 300yd stage mark Hewson was taking over the lead from Lincon. I moved outside and then and we were in the back straight so I was losing no ground on the outside. I moved up slowly still feeling very good, Landy was slightly ahead of me and he was really moving. I got him pretty easy and that put me in fourth position, about 180 yds to go. Then I put the boot down, as we say, and I found that I was surging to the front with very little difficulty. Then I hit the front with 50 yds to go to the tape. I realized that I had the race won I  remember breaking out in a big smile and when I went through the tape I was so delighted I threw my arms in the air. I never felt so happy in all my life". I asked him about kneeling on the track. "Yes Weeshie I did kneel down and thank God for what I had achieved. It was later I discovered that some commentators had said that id had collapsed with exhaustion, that was not true".

It was fascinating and indeed riveting for me to hear this unassuming legend with the quiet gentle voice recall with such great clarity those momentous events of 1956. Indeed listening to him brought back for me memories of my youth and the excitement this man had generated for the whole country. And when I put it to him that he had lifted the spirits of all  Ireland with his gold medal win he replied. "Yes that becomes more and more obvious to me as I continue to meet people like yourself who grew up in the mass emigration days of the fifties and for many my victory was the highlight of their lives at the time".

And then the interview came to an abrupt end. Without any warning the Artane boys band struck up a welcoming salvo for The Tashock Bertie Ahern who had just arrived in the hotel, and when  the thirty five members of that renowned band begin playing in the such small confines you don't attempt to best them by continuing an interview . We shook hands, I thanked Ronnie Delaney for his time and he disappeared into the milling crowd and I counted myself one lucky individual. Paudie o Se launch was certainly my lucky day.

Ronnie retired from athletics following a magnificent career in 1962 at the age of 27and returned to live in Dublin and only two weeks ago he was honored with the freedom of that city in the company of Bob Geldof. (Ronnie was born in Arklow). When I asked what advice he would give to younger runners, it was characteristically a beautiful Delaney answer. "Seek the guidance of a good coach, train regularly, set high aims. The sky is the limit, don't allow yourself to be rushed and seek to master the art of feeling relaxed when running".

Ronnie Delaney's victory was Ireland's first gold medal for a track since Bob Tisdall claimed his in the 400m hurdles in 1932. However Delany's win in far away Melbourne and that day in December 1956 was for me the most memorable of all.

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