Team USATrack and Field

James Connolly

Two-time Olympian (1896, 1900); four-time Olympic medalist (1 gold, 2 silvers, 1 bronze) Athens 1896, gold (triple jump), silver (high jump), bronze (long jump) Paris 1900, silver (triple jump)

1
GOLD

2
SILVER

1
BRONZE

news from athlete's sport

Chris Nilsen Soaring to Greater Heights With World Championships in Sight
The American pole vaulter uncorked a season-best performance at a stacked Diamond League meet in Monaco.
Jul 27, 2023
25 YEARS AFTER HISTORIC NAGANO GOLD, CAMMI GRANATO CONTINUES BREAKING GROUND
Cammi Granato grew up dreaming of playing hockey in the Olympic Games and the NHL, just like her brothers. Even when parents pointed and whispered at the only girl carrying a hockey bag into the rink, and the figure skaters called her weird, she h...
Feb 17, 2023

Athlete Bio

Hometown

Boston, MA

Education

Harvard University

Personal

Dropped out of formal education before high school, yet earned a scholarship to study at Harvard University following a period of self-tuition...Had to jump onto a moving train to make it to Athens prior to the Olympic Games Athens 1896...With his win in the triple jump, Connolly became the first Olympic gold medalist of the modern Olympic Games....Served with the 9th Massachusetts Infantry at the Siege of Santiago in 1898...Attended the Olympic Games St. Louis 1904 as a journalist for the Boston Globe...Published more than 200 short stories and 25 novels through his literary career.

Hall Of Fame Bio

James Connolly is an American track and field athlete who was known for being the first gold medalist of the modern Olympic Games. Born in Boston to a family of poor Irish immigrants, Connolly played a number of sports and earned a scholarship to study classics at Harvard University despite dropping out of formal education before high school. He applied for leave from Harvard in order to represent the U.S. at the Olympic Games Athens 1896. Harvard refused, and Connolly abandoned his program to attend the Athens Games. Connolly earned the gold medal in triple jump, the silver medal in high jump and the bronze medal in long jump at the Athens 1896 Games, and went on to capture the silver medal in the triple jump four years later at the Paris 1900 Games. He set foot on Harvard’s campus 50 years later when he was invited to speak about literature before the Harvard Union. Connolly served in the U.S. Navy and made an attempt to run for Congress. He also worked as a journalist and writer for many years, and wrote a number of novels over the rest of his life.