James B. Connolly: first modern Olympic champion and son of Irish emigrants

James B. Connolly, an American born to Irish parents, was the first Olympic champion of the modern era and achieved notable success across multiple field events.

In 1896, at the first Olympic Games held since the late 4th or early 5th century, James Brendan Connolly, the son of fisherman John Connolly and Ann O’Donnell from the Aran Islands in Co. Galway, emerged as the first Olympic champion of the modern era. In these games, winning first place earned a silver medal.

Born in South Boston, Massachusetts and formerly a mature undergraduate student at Harvard, James B. Connolly won the triple jump – then called the “hop, skip and jump” – on the opening day of the games held in Athens that year.

Connolly’s sporting success was significant not only for his first-place finish but also for his exceptional performances in multiple events. In the 1896 games, he also claimed second place in the high jump and third place in the long jump. During these games, silver medals were awarded to all event winners and bronze medals to the runners-up, with no medals for third place.

Connolly’s remarkable journey from university undergraduate to Olympic medallist was not without its challenges, including his forced withdrawal from Harvard to compete in the 1896 games.

The Paris Games of 1900 saw Connolly return as a competitor, where he claimed second place in the triple jump. Unlike in 1896, medals were not awarded at this event; instead, winners received alternative prizes such as trophies.

A F F I L I A T E   A D V E R T I S E M E N T

The established practice of awarding gold, silver and bronze medals in that sequence to the top three highest achievers was first implemented at the 1904 Summer Games in St Louis, USA. Connolly, by then a journalist, was present at the competition only in a reporting capacity.

In his later years, Harvard offered an honorary doctorate to Connolly, which he turned down.

Connolly was also on board the RMS Republic on its final voyage in January 1909 when it was rammed amidships in dense fog off the coast of Nantucket Island by the SS Florida and sank.