DAN O'CONNER
Birthday: March 29th, 1952
Current Residence : Bellmore, NY
Hometown: Wantagh, NY
College: University of Tennessee, Knoxville
PRS
Outdoors
20 km - 1:25:56
50 km - 4:09:29
Dan O'Connor was at the University of Tennessee on a running scholarship when, just before the Division I NCAA cross-country championships, he stepped in a pothole and twisted his ankle. The trainer taped him up so tight that he lost all flexibility in his ankle. Barely able to finish his race, he aggravated a cyst and damaged his knee. O’Connor managed to limp through two more seasons before accepting that he could no longer run competitively.
Luckily for O'Connor, he had race walked briefly in high school with instant success. Having trained for only three days as a senior, he walked a 7:15 mile and earned a N.Y. State high school record. This experience made O'Connor’s decision to return to walking easier. He felt no pain and amazingly was able to immediately translate his running workload to walking. When O'Connor uses the term workload, he says it flippantly, but his workload was one hundred miles a week!
Once he became a race walker, he never looked back. While he worked full-time, he trained the only way he could to fit in long miles. He carpooled to work and then walked the 15 miles from Far Rockaway back to his home. The approach paid off, as he qualified in both Olympic race walking events in 1980, only to miss the Games because of the boycott. However, he did realize his Olympic dreams in 1984 when he qualified and competed in the 20K at Los Angeles, finishing 6 th.
Over the course of his career, O'Connor amassed 14 national titles, including one 50K, one 20K—with a record-breaking time of 1:26:26 in 1980—and four consecutive 40Ks. Track and Field magazine ranked him nationally for 20 consecutive years, dubbing him Mr. Longevity. Today he remains the only track and field athlete in any event to have achieved this milestone.
Eventually, family obligations became more pressing and O'Connor gave up competitive race walking. He is now the head girls’ track coach for Far Rockaway High School, and two of his relay teams won at the Penn Relays in 2003. He is the proud father of four children who each ran the mile competitively by age six. O’Connor no longer walks, but jogs to stay fit.
1988
6th - 1:27:56
1986
6th - 1:30:53
1984
3rd - 1:25:56
1983
3rd - 1:27:37
1982
4th - 1:31:27
1981
2nd - 1:28:27
1980
3rd - 1:26:26
1979
6th - 1:31:37
1978
3rd - 1:32:43
1977
3rd - 1:34:43
1976
7th - 1:35:32
1988
1991
9th - 4:19:59
1990
6th - 4:19:28
1989
4th - 4:20:53
1987
4th - 4:10:29
1986
2nd - 4:18:46
1985
3rd - 4:28:34
1984
7th - 4:10:03
1983
3rd - 4:09:29
1982
2nd - 4:21:20
1981
4th - 4:22:24
1980
3rd - 4:11:03
1979
3rd - 4:17:34
1978
4th - 4:29:56
1977
3rd - 4:24:06
1976
3rd - 4:23:13
1975
7th - 4:41:21
1974
8th - 4:59:53
1973
8th - 4:51:57
None
1990
40K - 3:26:57
1988
30K - 2:24:15
1987
30K - 2:21:52
1982
50K - 4:22:22
25K - 1:57:23
1981
40K - 3:21:51
1980
35K - 3:00:31
40K - 3:24:21
20K - 1:26:26
1979
5K - 21:45
30K - 2:22:43
40K - 3:23:10
1978
40K - 3:31:25
1977
25K - 2:05:11.4
50K Olympic Games
1992 - 23 rd - 4:13:38 - Barcelona, Spain
1988 - 23 rd - 3:57:44 - Seoul, Korea
1984 - 6 th - 3:59:46 - Los Angeles, USA
50K World Championships
1991 - DNF - Tokyo, Japan
1987 - 16 th - 3:57:09 - Rome, Italy
50K World Cup
1997 - 72 nd - 4:19:46 - Podebrady, Czechoslovakia
1995 - 42 nd - 4:06:45 - Bejing, China
1991 - 31 st - 4:08:51 - San Jose, USA
1987 - 24 th - 4:03:02 - New York City, USA
1985 - 19 th - 4:13:14 - St. John's, Isle of Man
1979 - 44 th - 4:27:24 - Escborn, West Germany
50K Pan Am Games
1987 - 5 th - 1:29:53 - Indianapolis, USA
20K Pan Am Cup
1990 - 7 th - 1:28:21 - Xalapa, Mexico
1988 - 6 th - 1:31:39 - Mar del Plata, Argentina
1986 - 9 th - 1:25:04 - St. Leonard, Canada
50K Pan Am Cup
1992 - 10 th - 4:24:46 - Guatemala City, Guatemala
1984 - 4 th - 4:20:56 - Bucaramanga, Columbia
