Jim Hogan (athlete)

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]

Jim Hogan
Medal record
Men's athletics
Representing  Great Britain
European Championships
Gold medal – first place1966 BudapestMarathon

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. "Jim Hogan". Olympedia. Retrieved 24 May 2022.
  2. 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. "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.
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