He claimed records for the latter two
jumps but, at both places, the ground, on being tested by an engineer,
was found to be three inches from being level in a distance of thirty
yards. As a consequence the records were not accepted though it
was generally admitted that the runways at both venues were more against
him than in his favour.
In 1904 and again in 1905 he repeated
his wins in the long jump. He tied for first
place in 1901 in the high jump under I.A.A.A. rules and he won the long jump in 1900 and
1901. The measure of O'Connor's greatness can be seen in the
calibre of his opponents in those years; men such as the great Tom Kiely
of Ballyneale, Carrick-on-Suir, the greatest all-round Irish sportsman
of his generation; Pat Leahy of Gregane, Charleville, Co.Cork and Pat's
brother Con Leahy, the finest high jumper in Europe, who won titles in
Ireland, Britain and America.
It was O'Connor's complete domination of
the British athletes that brought him to the notice of the British
Olympic selectors. They telegraphed O'Connor in Waterford offering
to send him to the Olympic Games in Paris but he unhesitatingly refused
the offer. He wanted to represent Ireland and only Ireland. Several more telegrams arrived but to no avail. If he had competed
in the 1900 Games he would have been a raging hot favourite to win the
gold medal. One month after the Games he broke the world record of
Myer Prinstein with a leap of 24' 7¾".
His jumping in 1901 set the world of
athletics ablaze on both sides of the Atlantic and it is worth noting
that in the five years up to1901 he was unbeaten in the long jump,
despite giving away up to three feet to most of his opponents.
May 10th,
1901 De La Salle, Waterford: 24ft
June
29th, 1901 Glasgow: 23ft 9½ins
July6th,
1901, Huddersfield (English Championships): 23ft 8½ins
July
20th,1901, Dublin (DMP Championships): 23ft 11½ins
July
28th, 1901, Annacurra, Co.Wicklow: 24ft 11½ins
Aug 5th,
1901, Ballsbridge, Dublin: 24ft 11¾ins - This was from a board take
off and was the first world long jump record that was ratified by the IAAF (in 1913).
Sept 7th,
1901, Buffalo NY: 22ft 8½ins
In 1902 his friends and admirers in
Waterford made a presentation to him in Allen's Hotel in Colbeck Street
in recognition of his sensational world record jump at Ballsbridge. The
presentation took the form of a gold watch and an illuminated address. In his speech to the assembled crowd, O'Connor said;
The
luckiest thing that ever happened to me was to take up residence in
Waterford … I had
the advantage of training with those excellent
athletes … including E. W. Clyne, J. Curry, Frank Furlong and others. I may
indeed, gentlemen, attribute the greater portion of my success in the
athletic arena to my having come to live in Waterford. For years I
have been hovering around record figures but bad luck haunted me.
My jumps were always a wee bit short of the mark and, when over the mark
as they were on several occasions, the ground failed to stand the test
of the spirit level, which is absolutely essential before any credence
is given to any jumps. I would have disappeared and chucked
athletics altogether, were it not for three reasons, viz.,
1st. The kindness of my
employer, Mr. David Dunford, Solicitor, in permitting me to attend all
the main athletic meetings in the South of Ireland, in a greater part of
Leinster and elsewhere.
2nd. I found splendid
facilities in Waterford for training - Waterpark College grounds for the
long jump and the Goff track for sprinting. This track is the
finest track in Ireland for cycling and sprinting.
3rd. I received every encouragement in the flattering and
undeserved articles from the pen of my good and true friend, Mr.
Redmond, in his excellent paper - the Waterford News.
The IAAA championships in Cork on Whit
Monday 1902 marked a turning point in O'Connor's career. A major row
broke out when O'Connor failed to appear at the Championships and the
IAAA responded by refusing to select him for the AAA championships. The reason for O'Connors non-appearance was that on the day of the
Championships he was attending the funeral of his good friend and fellow
athlete, Frank Furlong. The IAAA assumed that O'Connor had boycotted
their Championships and they selected Con Leahy in his place. Peter
later won the AAA Championships, beating Leahy in the long jump with
23ft 7½ins and also beating him in the high jump with 6ft 2ins.
The Ireland v Scotland match was
scheduled for a fortnight later and to mend fences with the IAAA Peter
wrote to that body offering to compete for Ireland in both jumps,
guaranteeing a win, barring accidents, in both. The IAAA ignored
him completely and selected the brothers Leahy to contest the jumps. O'Connor was enraged at this treatment and he actually made his own way
to Scotland and demanded that, as the best jumper in Ireland, he should
be allowed to compete. The IAAA refused and said that, as he had
not competed at Cork in the IAAA Championships, he was ineligible. It is worth noting here that three members of the Irish team had also
not competed in Cork. From then on O'Connor ignored the IAAA
Championships and concentrated on the AAA Championships. In a
letter to the Waterford News, published in their edition of July
15th, 1904, O'Connor gave his version of the split with the
IAAA and, in the letter, he confirmed that he had accepted the
invitation of the AAA to compete for England in future.
He won the AAA long jump title in 1901,
1902, 1903, 1904, 1905 and 1906 and he added the high jump titles in
1903 and 1904 (tie). He was again selected for Britain in the1904
Games but he did not compete. The reason for his non-participation
was never given but in the light of the flag incident in the
1906 Games it is almost certain that his views on nationalism and his
desire to compete for Ireland, rather than as a member of a British
team, would explain his absence. When he eventually did take part
in the Olympic Games, in the Intercalated Games of 1906, he was quite
clearly past his best. This was most evident in the long jump in
which he could manage only 23' 0½" (7.02m). He held the lead
until the very last round and only one man, Myer Prinstein from the USA,
with 23ft 7½ins, was good enough to exceed Peter's mark, depriving him
of the gold medal. However the hop, step and jump competition was
a different matter. Twenty one athletes from eight nations took
part and O'Connor, despite a loose runway was supreme. He started with a
leap of 45ft 7ins, improved to 46ft 2ins with his second attempt and
with his final jump, took the gold with a leap of 46'2¼" (14.08m). In second place was the great Con Leahy with a leap of 45' 10½"
(13.98m).
O'Connor and Leahy were, of course,
competing for Great Britain and we can judge how much this rankled with
both of them by their action after the medals were presented. In
an incident that has become part of Olympic legend, Leahy and distance
runner John Daly stood guard at the base of the pole from which flew the
Union Jack while O'Connor climbed to the top of the towering flagpole in
Athens and replaced the Union Jack with a green flag. The fact
that O'Connor had brought the flag from Ireland for such a purpose shows
his confidence of victory. That flag is now held by members of his family
in Ireland