Denis Horgan
Irish shot putter
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Denis Horgan (18 May 1871 – 2 June 1922) was a champion Irish athlete and weight thrower, born in Banteer, County Cork, who competed mainly in the shot put.[1]
Horgan depicted on an Ogden's cigarette card, 1902 | ||||||||||||
| Personal information | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Born | 18 May 1871 | |||||||||||
| Died | 2 June 1922 (aged 51) Crookstown, Cork | |||||||||||
| Sport | ||||||||||||
| Sport | Athletics | |||||||||||
Event | Shot put | |||||||||||
Medal record
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Biography
Shortly after setting a world record of 48 feet 2 inches with the 16 pound shot at Queenstown,[citation needed] in County Cork, Ireland in 1897, Horgan visited the U.S., and in 1900, he joined the Greater New York Irish Athletic Association, the predecessor of the Irish American Athletic Club for a brief period.[2] In 1905, he joined the rival New York Athletic Club.[citation needed]
In 1906, Horgan set the world's record for the 28 pound shot, with a distance of 35 feet, 4.5 inches at the Ancient Order of Hibernians games held at Celtic Park in Queens, New York.[3]
He competed for Great Britain at the 1908 Summer Olympics in London in the shot put,[4][5] where he won the silver medal.[1]
Horgan won 13 British AAA Championships titles from 1893 to 1912.[6] The win at the 1893 AAA Championships was the first of seven consecutive shot put titles.[7][8][9]
Horgan won a total 42 shot put titles during his athletic career, including 28 Irish championships,[citation needed] and one American championship.[citation needed] Horgan was "usually so superior to his fellow competitors that he seldom trained in any sort of systematic way, yet he showed a marked consistency of performance, in all conditions, over a period of twenty years."[10]
He emigrated to America, where he worked as a police officer.[citation needed] Whilst attempting to rescue a fellow Irishman, he was severely stabbed and left for dead.[citation needed] After he recovered, he returned to Ireland, married, and settled in Crookstown.[11]
