Johnny Kelley

Medal record
Competitor for  United States
Men's Athletics
Pan American Games
Gold	Chicago 1959	Marathon

John ("Johnny") Joseph Adelbert Kelley (September 6, 1907 – October 6, 2004) is a former American long-distance runner, who won the gold medal at the 1959 Pan American Games. He twice represented his native country at the Summer Olympics: 1936 and 1948. Born in West Medford, Massachusetts, one of ten children, he won the 1935 and 1945 editions of the Boston Marathon. He was a second place finisher at Boston seven times, and competed in a record 61 Boston Marathons. Kelley ran track and cross-country at Arlington High School in Massachusetts. His PR for the mile is around 4:40, set in high school. He dropped out of his first marathon and DNF'd his first Boston Marathon in 1928, but he had success at shorter races at the time. A legend of the marathon, Kelley made his mark as a true endurance athlete. In the seventeen years from 1934 to 1950, he finished in the top five 15 times at Boston, consistently running in the 2:30s. He ran his last Boston in 1992 at the age of 84, his 61st start and 58th finish. Kelley also ran the Yonkers Marathon 29 times.

Kelley was a member of the U.S. Olympic Team that attended the Berlin Games of 1936. He finished 18th in the marathon, never really in contention for a medal. A highlight of the games for him was meeting the legendary Greek runner Spiridon Louis, the winner of the marathon in the first modern Olympic Games, held in Athens in 1896. A statue of Kelley stands to commemorate him near the City Hall of Newton, Massachusetts, at the base of Heartbreak Hill. Kelley was named "Runner of the Century" by Runner's World magazine in 2000. Johnny A. Kelley should not be confused with 1957 Boston Marathon champion John J. Kelley ("the Younger") who bears no relation.

See also

• List of winners of the Boston Marathon

External links

• Obituary at ESPN
• Obituary in the Boston Globe

References

• (English) Profile
• (English) Obituary
• Profile