O’Connor waves flag of justice at Games

Peter O’Connor, who was born in Wicklow in 1872, lived most of his life in Waterford.

He was the most famous Irish long jumper of all time. He dominated the event in this country and won the British Amateur Athletic Association Championships from 1901 to 1906.

He refused a British invitation to compete at the Paris Olympics in 1900. He wished to represent Ireland only. In 1901, he broke the world record with a jump of 7.61m (24ft 11.75ins), which stood as the world record until 1923, and remained the Irish record holder until 1990.