Jerry was 9th in the 1984 Olympic Marathon. Jerry was 67.
Jerry was 9th in the 1984 Olympic Marathon. Jerry was 67.
Too young, younger than me. Not the most well known name but he got loads of respect and admiration in Ireland. RIP
I am deeply saddened to hear of Jerry's passing. I only met him once but he seemed to be one of the most genuinely enthusiastic lovers of the sport and a really nice guy as well. RIP Jerry.
Irish-American Coach wrote:
I am deeply saddened to hear of Jerry's passing. I only met him once but he seemed to be one of the most genuinely enthusiastic lovers of the sport and a really nice guy as well. RIP Jerry.
I never met him. I hadn't even heard of him until I saw an article on him while I was working on the links for the front page this evening. But my goodness I wish I had known him.
Sounds like everyone loved him.
Here is a great video tribute.
https://twitter.com/RTEsport/status/1352333182591447044nice article as well:
https://www.rte.ie/sport/athletics/2021/0121/1191311-one-of-the-greats-coghlan-leads-kiernan-tributes/Another tribute
https://twitter.com/Cathal_Dennehy/status/1352265560231440385Old interview with him:
http://www.terracetalk.com/interviews/76/Jerry-KiernanHe was very much loved.
I had the privilege of training with his group for a few years. A a no-bull**** attitude combined with tremendous kindness and generosity. And a fascinating and razor-sharp mind. Not to mention a top 10 Olympic finish in one of the more competitive marathons in history (his time would have placed him top 10 in every olympic marathon since).
Gave so much of his time freely to Irish athletics, treating Ireland's best up and coming athletes with the same respect as more middle of the pack types like me (as long as we were all there to work and not mess around). Learned lessons from him that will stay with me whatever I do, and will remember sessions on the dublin hills fondly.
Here's another article:
https://www.buzz.ie/sport/theres-more-to-jerry-kiernan-than-the-mad-looking-mullet-143738
Any word on how he died?
Not much that I've heard (I'm no longer in Ireland and not in close touch any more sadly), but appears he'd been ill for some time last year.
"Our last conversation was a few weeks before Christmas and sparked, as so often in the past, by me wanting to hear Jerry Kiernan talk about running. In ways now entirely fitting our chat went far beyond running, just as Kiernan’s death at age 67 is sadly lamented by a great number of people far beyond the sport.
...
Admitting himself he was unwell, his health deteriorating after an illness earlier in summer, Kiernan spoke about the need for athletics to resume some competition, especially as other sports were continuing in the face of a Level 5 lockdown."
Great supporter of athletics, a very humble & giving man. 3:59 mile, 2:12 for the marathon and 2 Dublin Marathon wins as well as countless titles for his beloved Clonliffe Harriers. He was a mainstay on the Irish Athletics scene. You would meet him at the Dublin Marathon or at Ballycotton and he truly loved the sport. And he was a great watch on the telly- told it like it was. I remember Paul Pollock saying he could win Euro Cross a few years back and him snapping that idea back into place on air! Ar dheis Dé go raibh a anam
This is worth a read to understand why he was so loved
https://www.the42.ie/jerry-kiernan-appreciation-5332338-Jan2021/
“May the road rise to meet you...”
Jerry Kiernan (31/05/1953)
One Mile 3:59.12 London (GBR) 19 JUN 1976 1085
3000 Metres 7:54.70 Belfast (GBR) 20 JUL 1987 1087
5000 Metres 13:32.71 Cork (IRL) 23 JUN 1981 1093
10,000 Metres 28:55.9h Morton (IRL) 18 JUL 1981 1047
15 Kilometres 44:42 Utica, NY (USA) 14 JUL 1985 1033
10 Miles Road 47:04 Ballycotton (IRL) 06 MAR 1983 1089
Marathon 2:12:20 Memorial Coliseum, Los Angeles, CA (USA) 12 AUG 1984 1120
His mile time was very impressive in 1976, but also his 5000 m time of 13:32.71 is very impressive and this pointed to a time of approximately 28:00-28:05 for 10,000 m on the track.
Unfortunately he never got a good opportunity to run a fast 10,000 m in Europe and so his potential was not achieved over that distance.
Furthermore, his 2:12:20 for the marathon in Los Angeles in the Olympics could’ve been a lot faster in other marathons down to 2:09.
As a full-time teacher in Dublin, Kiernan did not often have the opportunity to travel abroad for races, his teaching career taking precedence.
Mr Kiernan was is a greatly esteemed and effective teacher and never miss a day.
Self taught, in his spare time he also dabbled in languages like Gaelic, Italian and Latin. he worked full-time, coaching and did his own training, and there were not enough hours in the day but he got it all done at a very successful level.
He is in a select band of sub four minute milers (3:59) with decent marathon speed of 2:12 .
With today’s boingy boingy shoes and more opportunities to race Kiernan would’ve been a 2:07 Marathoner perhaps.
Working full-time and achieving world class status at the time was extremely commendable.
Olympic marathon 1984. Super impressive.
Many of Jerry’s scalps in the Olympic marathon were super famous.
1984 Olympic marathon, L.A. Hot/humid.
In my book this was Jerry’s best race - monster performance absolute monster!
9 th Jerry Kiernan 2:12:20
10. Rod Dixon 2:12:57
11. P.Pfitzinger 2:13:53
12. H.Jones 2:13:57
14. T.Seko 2:14:13
15. A. Salazar 2:14:19
17. S.So 2:14:38
20. Ahmed Salah 2:15:59
22. G.Shahanga 2:16:27
24. K.Lismont 2:17:07
33. O.Dahl 2:19:28
DNF - Stahl, Gomez (Mex), Nijboer, G.Smith, J.Tuttle, T.Persson, M.Vainio
He ran an impressive 2:12:47 in the hilly 1986 Stamford Classic Marathon.
ClassicCardioRunner wrote:
He ran an impressive 2:12:47 in the hilly 1986 Stamford Classic Marathon.
Based on that performance and his performance in the Olympics, Kiernan was intrinsically worth around 2:09 or 2:10 for the marathon minimum, in many people’s opinion.
Jerry was so manly that he got five o'clock shadow at noon.
Very sad to learn that Jerry has passed on , didnt know him very well , he beat one of my trainees Chris Penny in 1992 Dublin ( Chris's big breakthrough) , got to know him a bit more in following years on trips to Dublin Marathon , a very kind and generous man in giving advice , for sure he will be missed.
In the (unofficial) team score in the marathon in the 1984 Olympics in Los Angeles, Ireland finished a surprising third overall based on three scoring runners.
1. Japan (4, 14, 17 =35pts
2. Tanzania (6, 21, 22 =49 pts
3. Ireland (2, 9, 51 = 62 pts
4. Kenya (7, 49, 68 = 124 pts
Many favored countries could not finish a team score because the third person on the team did not finish the race so no score, for example Australia, Portugal, USA etc..