Jerome Drayton (January 10, 1945 – February 10, 2025) was a Canadian long-distance runner who competed internationally. He was born as Peter Buniak in Germany, and came to Canada in the mid-1950s when his mother moved there after divorcing his father.[1] He reportedly based his new name on two famous sprinters he admired: Canadian former world record holder Harry Jerome and American Paul Drayton, former world record holder in the 4 × 100 m as part of the American relay team.[2] However, Drayton denied this, stating that he chose Jerome because it was a name he had always liked, and Drayton because he thought the two names fit well together.[3] A prominent runner in the 1970s, when he was for a time ranked as the top marathoner in the world, he won the Fukuoka Marathon in 1969, 1975, and 1976, as well as the Boston Marathon in 1977. His Canadian men's national record time in the marathon of 2:10:09, set in 1975 at the Fukuoka Marathon, stood for 43 years until broken by Cam Levins in October 2018 with a time of 2:09:25 in the Toronto Waterfront Marathon.[4] Drayton had held the Canadian record since 1969, after breaking the then record of 2:18:55 set by Robert Moore a month earlier.[5]

Biography

Drayton was born as Peter Buniak on January 10, 1945, in Munich, Germany, to parents of Russian-Ukrainian background. Having been born as the Second World War was coming to an end and extreme poverty was widespread, Drayton and his parents had travelled to Germany from Poland aboard a cattle train. Drayton’s parents eventually divorced and his mother, who had custody of him, moved to Canada and then brought Drayton over to Toronto in November, 1956, when he was 11 years old. When he took up running in high school, Drayton’s single-mindedness quickly became evident and it wasn't long before he won top-calibre events. After winning the Ontario high school championships for Mimico High School, he was recruited to the Toronto Olympic Club, where he began working with national distance running coach Paul Poce.[1]

Drayton died from complications during knee surgery in Toronto on February 10, 2025, at the age of 80.[6][7]

Achievements

Year Competition Venue Position Event Notes
Representing  Canada
1969 Motor City Marathon Detroit, Michigan 1st Marathon 2:12:00
Fukuoka Marathon Fukuoka, Japan 1st Marathon 2:11:13
1973 Canadian Championships St. John's, Newfoundland 1st Marathon 2:13:27
1974 Boston Marathon Boston, Massachusetts 3rd Marathon 2:15:41
1975 Fukuoka Marathon Fukuoka, Japan 1st Marathon 2:10:09 PR
1976 Olympic Games Montréal, Canada 6th Marathon 2:13:30
Fukuoka Marathon Fukuoka, Japan 1st Marathon 2:12:35
1977 Boston Marathon Boston, United States 1st Marathon 2:14:46
New York City Marathon New York City 2nd Marathon 2:13:52
1978 Commonwealth Games Edmonton, Canada 2nd Marathon 2:16:14
1979 Boston Marathon Boston, Massachusetts 11th Marathon 2:14:48
National Capital Marathon Ottawa, Canada 1st Marathon 2:18:05

See also

References

  1. ^ a b Paul Gains (October 17, 2013). "Ahead of Time". Canadian Running Magazine. Retrieved October 18, 2013.
  2. ^ Jerome Drayton and the Oldest Canadian Record
  3. ^ Blaikie, David (1984). Boston The Canadian Story. Ottawa, Ontario, Canada: Seneca House Books. p. 158. ISBN 0-920598-04-8.
  4. ^ Harrison, Doug (21 October 2018). "Cam Levins obliterates Canadian men's record in marathon debut". CBC Sports. Retrieved 22 October 2018.
  5. ^ Canadian Marathon Record Progression
  6. ^ Robinson, Roger (11 February 2025). "Canadian Marathon Great Jerome Drayton Dies at 80". Runner's World. Retrieved 12 February 2025.
  7. ^ "Jerome Drayton, 1976 Olympian and last Canadian man to win Boston Marathon in '77, dies at 80". AP News. 13 February 2025. Retrieved 13 February 2025.
Allikas: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jerome_Drayton
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