Paul Dolan was a sprinter and 400m specialist from Ballyshannon, County Donegal who competed at both the 1948 London and 1952 Helsinki Olympic Games - on each occasion admitted through IOC/IAAF intervention without the endorsement of the Irish Olympic Council. He set a native Irish record for the 440 yards of 48.5 seconds at the IAAB championships in 1952, breaking Jimmy Reardon's record, and a national record for the 220 yards of 21.6 seconds at the AAUE championships. At London he competed in sprint events; at Helsinki he finished third in his 100m heat (11.0), advanced to the second round of the 200m (21.9 twice), and finished third in his 400m heat (48.5), narrowly beaten to second by Polish runner Gerard Mach in the same time.
Athletics
