Patrick Leahy (athlete)
{{short description|Athletics competitor}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=January 2022}}
{{Use Hiberno-English|date=January 2022}}
{{Infobox sportsperson
|name= Patrick Leahy
|image=
|caption=
|birth_date= 20 May 1877
|birth_place= Cregane, Charleville, Cork, Ireland
| death_date = 29 December 1927 (aged 50)
| death_place = Chicago, Illinois, USA
|sport=Athletics
|event= high jump
|club=
| show-medals = yes
| medaltemplates =
{{MedalCountry|{{GBR2}}}}
{{MedalSport|Men's athletics}}
{{MedalSilver|1900 Paris|High Jump}}
{{MedalBronze|1900 Paris|Long Jump}}
}}
Patrick Joseph Leahy (20 May 1877 – 29 December 1927) was an Irish athlete who won Olympic medals (for Great Britain and Ireland) in the high jump and long jump at the 1900 Summer Olympics.{{cite web|title=Pat Leahy|url=https://www.sports-reference.com/olympics/athletes/le/pat-leahy-1.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200417172749/https://www.sports-reference.com/olympics/athletes/le/pat-leahy-1.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=17 April 2020|website=Olympics at Sports-Reference.com|accessdate=27 May 2017}}{{cite web|url=https://www.olympedia.org/athletes/69236 |title=Patrick Leahy |work=Olympedia |accessdate=24 December 2020}}{{cite news |url=https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0000648/19080612/187/0008 |title=Olympic Games, Britain's team of athletes |work=Liverpool Daily Post |date=12 June 1908 |via=British Newspaper Archive|url-access=subscription |access-date=10 April 2025}}
Biography
Leahy was born in Creggane, in the Civil parish of Hackmys, in the barony of Coshma near Kilmallock in County Limerick, near the border between County Limerick and County Cork. He was one of seven brothers all of whom were sportsmen. His brother Con won medals in jumping at two Olympic Games.{{cite web|title=Con Leahy Bio|url=https://www.sports-reference.com/olympics/athletes/le/con-leahy-1.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200417115343/https://www.sports-reference.com/olympics/athletes/le/con-leahy-1.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=17 April 2020|website=Olympics at Sports-Reference.com|accessdate=27 May 2017}} Another brother, Timothy, also jumped competitively.
Patrick broke the British high jump record in Dublin in 1898 with a jump of 6 ft. 4in. (1.93m). He went on to win the AAA Championships high jump title at the 1898 AAA Championships and 1899 AAA Championships{{cite web|url=https://nuts.org.uk/Champs/AAA/index.htm |title=AAA, WAAA and National Championships Medallists |website=National Union of Track Statisticians |access-date=30 July 2024}}{{cite news |url=https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0000893/18980704/154/0008 |title=The Amateur Athletic Championships |work=Sporting Life |date=4 July 1898 |via=British Newspaper Archive|url-access=subscription |access-date=30 July 2024}} and also came third in the long jump in 1899.{{cite web|title=AAA and National Championships Medallists - Long Jump|url=https://www.nuts.org.uk/Champs/AAA/AAALJ.htm|website=nuts.org.uk|accessdate=27 May 2017}} Leahy also competed internationally in the long jump and the hop, step and jump (triple jump).
In the 1900 Olympic Games in Paris, Leahy took part in three jump disciplines. He won the silver medal in the high jump behind Irving Baxter of the United States,{{cite web|title=Athletics at the 1900 Paris Summer Games: Men's High Jump|url=https://www.sports-reference.com/olympics/summer/1900/ATH/mens-high-jump.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200417172754/https://www.sports-reference.com/olympics/summer/1900/ATH/mens-high-jump.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=17 April 2020|website=Olympics at Sports-Reference.com|accessdate=27 May 2017}} and the bronze medal in the long jump behind Alvin Kraenzlein and Myer Prinstein,{{cite web|title=Athletics at the 1900 Paris Summer Games: Men's Long Jump|url=https://www.sports-reference.com/olympics/summer/1900/ATH/mens-long-jump.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200417172818/https://www.sports-reference.com/olympics/summer/1900/ATH/mens-long-jump.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=17 April 2020|website=Olympics at Sports-Reference.com|accessdate=27 May 2017}} he also finished fourth place in the triple jumps behind Prinstein, James Connolly and Lewis Sheldon.{{cite web|title=Athletics at the 1900 Paris Summer Games: Men's Triple Jump|url=https://www.sports-reference.com/olympics/summer/1900/ATH/mens-triple-jump.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200417172819/https://www.sports-reference.com/olympics/summer/1900/ATH/mens-triple-jump.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=17 April 2020|website=Olympics at Sports-Reference.com|accessdate=27 May 2017}}
Eight years later, Leahy was back on the Olympic scene when he competed at the 1908 Summer Olympics, held in London, he entered the high jump again, but unfortunately he only finished ninth in the qualifying so didn't advance to the final, unlike his brother Con Leahy who went on to win the silver medal.{{cite web|title=Athletics at the 1908 London Summer Games: Men's High Jump|url=https://www.sports-reference.com/olympics/summer/1908/ATH/mens-high-jump.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200417171353/https://www.sports-reference.com/olympics/summer/1908/ATH/mens-high-jump.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=17 April 2020|website=Olympics at Sports-Reference.com|accessdate=27 May 2017}}
In 1909 Patrick and Con Leahy emigrated to the United States. Patrick died in Chicago in 1927, aged 50.
References
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External links
- {{Sports links}}
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Category:Athletes from County Limerick
Category:Irish male high jumpers
Category:Irish male long jumpers
Category:Olympic athletes for Great Britain
Category:Olympic silver medallists for Great Britain
Category:Olympic bronze medallists for Great Britain
Category:Athletes (track and field) at the 1900 Summer Olympics
Category:Athletes (track and field) at the 1908 Summer Olympics
Category:Medalists at the 1900 Summer Olympics
Category:Olympic silver medalists in athletics (track and field)
Category:Olympic bronze medalists in athletics (track and field)