Born on 6 October 1929 in Loughmore, Co. Tipperary, Kelly’s sporting life encompassed hurling with the Moyglass junior team, emigration to Australia in 1949 where he moved between Melbourne and New Zealand working in construction, competing in the Australian Olympic Trials in hammer throwing and heavyweight boxing in 1956, finishing runner-up in the New Zealand senior heavyweight boxing championships in 1957, playing rugby with Marist clubs in New Plymouth and Wellington, and moving to the USA in 1959 where he trained at Bobby Gleason’s famous gym before switching to long-distance running. He finished 7th in the brutally warm Yonkers Marathon in 1964 and won the Philadelphia Marathon in January 1965 (2:37:23) on a snow-covered course.

Impressive performances in American walking events from 1967 secured his Olympic selection: in 1967 he set a new course record for the Lawrence to Lowell 20k (1:32:30) and in June 1968 recorded a personal best in the 50k at the USA walking championship in San Francisco. He arrived in Mexico having spent the summer at high-altitude training in Alamosa, Colorado. An illness a few days before his event affected his preparation, and he retired after 10 kilometres.