Jimmy Reardon became the first non-American athlete to be awarded an athletics scholarship to Villanova University in the United States as a direct result of his performances at the 1948 London Olympic Games, where he reached the semi-final of the men's 400 metres with a time of 47.8 seconds - the fastest by any European 400m runner at those Games, and a time that would have qualified for the final had he been drawn in the other semi. He won his first-round heat in 48.4 seconds, progressed through the second round in 48.3, and finished fifth in the semi-final. He was a member of the AAUE athletics contingent admitted through IOC intervention and not selected by the Irish Olympic Council. David Guiney, who knew him well, described the era of Irish athletics in which Reardon starred as the 'Scott Fitzgerald' era, calling him 'the handsome, golden boy of running' - a man with 'an immensely healthy appetite for life' who was 'a captivating charming rogue to boot.' He prepared for London by living in a caravan at Bull Island in Dollymount. At Villanova he was coached by Jumbo Elliott, opening a pathway that would be followed by Ronnie Delany, Noel Carroll and generations of Irish middle-distance athletes. He went on to compete at the 1952 Helsinki Olympic Games.
Athletics
