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Canadian James ‘Jimmy’ Duffy’s grave stands in Vlamertinge.
Exactly a hundred years ago he completed his greatest race.
A year later German bullets did their worst.
James ‘Jimmy’ Duffy is the son of Irish immigrants, who sought a better life for themselves in Scotland.
They were overjoyed when young Jimmy raced to victory in cross country events and went on to represent Great Britain in international athletics.
His parents had their worries though.
Jimmy was a keen gambler, couldn’t be bothered to keep up with his training and had an eye for the girls.
His philandering cost him a place at the 1908 London Olympics.
Meanwhile Jimmy continued to dream of his heroes in America and Canada, like the First Nations’ Tom Longboat, a legend in his own lifetime, who filled many pages of print.
These dreams gave Jimmy an aim in life and he set his mind to breaking the five-mile record.
The youngster concentrated on long distance running and at the age of 21 he decided to immigrate to Canada.
In Toronto he worked as a tinsmith and later as a doorman in a department store.
Slowly, but surely his reputation is made.
The newspapers loved him, the athlete with the funny accent, always ready with a joke.
In 1912 he represented Canada at the Stockholm Olympics, but a medal was not forthcoming.
Back on the other side of the Atlantic, Jimmy went from strength to strength, winning every marathon he took part in, including the New York Marathon.
Exactly a hundred years ago our athlete notched up his most important victory: the Boston Marathon.
In sweltering heat he beat fellow countryman Edouard Fabre by 15 seconds.
He nearly collapsed at the finish.
His first concern: a pint of beer.
After a brief medical he lit a cigarette and chatted with reporters.
Jimmy was a top favourite for the Berlin Olympics, but they never come about.
A couple of months after the Boston Marathon all hell broke loose on the western front.
Canada played its role as part of the empire.
Jimmy Duffy had a role to play too in promoting the war effort as a member of the Canadian infantry: Private 29437 James Duffy told newsmen: "I’m running straight to Berlin."
On 22 April German forces used mustard gas for the first time on a large scale outside Ieper and succeed in puncturing the Allied frontline.
In the evening the Canadians launched a counteroffensive.
Jimmy was injured outside Langemark.
A day later, on St George’s Day, Jimmy succumbed of his injuries at Vlamertinge.
James Duffy, arguably the greatest athlete of his day, is largely forgotten nowadays.
His headstone is one of innumerable graves in Flanders Fields.
But he’s not completely forgotten: on Bank Holiday Monday one of his descendants, a young woman called Maureen Kiesewetter, ran the Boston Marathon, and as she raced her thoughts from time to time surely wandered towards her famous forebearer, whose headstone still stands in Flanders Fields.
Flandersnews.be / Expatica