John Flanagan (athlete)
 Flanagan posing with 16 lb. hammer weight in 1908 |
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| Medal record | ||
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| Men's athletics | ||
Representing the  United States
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| Olympic Games | ||
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1900 Paris | Hammer throw |
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1904 St. Louis | Hammer throw |
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1908 London | Hammer throw |
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1904 St. Louis | Weight throw |
John Flanagan (John Joseph Flanagan; January 28, 1868 – June 3, 1938) was a three-time Olympic gold medalist in the hammer throw, winning in 1900, 1904, and 1908.
John Flanagan was born in the townland of Kilbreedy East, near Martinstown in County Limerick, Ireland on January 9, 1873. He emigrated to the United States of America in 1896. At that time he already held the world record for the hammer throw. He competed for both the New York Athletic Club and the Irish American Athletic Club, and was part of a group of Irish-American athletes known as the Irish Whales.
In 1900 Flanagan represented his new country at the Olympic Games. Flanagan, the only non-college man to medal for the Americans, outdistanced American athlete Truxtun Hare by 4.75 meters in the hammer throw. Hare and Josiah McCracken, both college football players from Pennsylvania, took silver and bronze. Flanagan also competed in the discus throw, finishing seventh.
Flanagan joined the New York City Police Department (NYPD) in 1903, and his first assignment was to the Bureau of Licenses, where he had a lot of time on his hands, which was mostly used to train at the Irish American Athletic Club in Queens. It was during that time that he became one of the masters of the three-turn technique. In the 1904 Olympic Games, sporting the Winged Fist of the Irish American Athletic Club, Flanagan set a new world record of 168 feet, 1 inch. He placed second to the Canadian, Étienne Desmarteau, in the 56-pound throw event.
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