Blank greetings card with envelope featuring:

'Visit of John J. Hayes, Winner of the Marathon Race of 1908, of the Irish American Athletic Club, New York - Visit to the House of Commons' NPG x131231

© National Portrait Gallery, London

by Benjamin Stone

The marathon race remains the best-remembered event of the 1908 Olympic Games. Sir Arthur Conan Doyle recalled the tense stadium atmosphere as everyone waited to see 'who may head the field'. Dorando Pietri, an Italian, emerged first but then collapsed. The crowd willed him on as Hayes appeared behind him. Pietri triumphed, but was disqualified in Hayes's favour after the American delegation complained that the stewards had assisted him. The 22-year-old Johnny Hayes stands proudly in the foreground of this photograph wearing a straw boater.... more

Card size: 125mm x 175mm

Images are printed in their original proportions, within a white border.