Paul de Bruyn

Biographical information

RolesCompeted in Olympic Games
SexMale
Full namePaul•de Bruyn
Used namePaul•de Bruyn
Born7 October 1907 in Weserdeich, Berne, Niedersachsen (GER)
Died5 April 1997 in Daytona Beach, Florida (USA)
Measurements168 cm / 70 kg
AffiliationsBerliner SC, Berlin (GER)
NOC Germany

Biography

A sailor, Paul de Bruyn arrived in New York in 1930 and started running for a local track club. He won the German marathon title in 1931, and was a surprise winner of the Boston Marathon the following year, becoming the only German ever to win the Boston Marathon. Considered a favorite at the 1932 Los Angeles Olympics, he couldn’t deliver, placing only 15th, as he struggled with the heat.

After his second Olympic appearance in 1936, de Bruyn became a US citizen, and fought for the American Navy in the War. He volunteered for the US Navy in World War II at Pearl Harbor and worked as a frogman on a repair ship. He was severely injured by the explosion of a ship’s propeller in October 1945 at Okinawa and remained in Florida. After the war he worked as an engineer in New York. In his honor, the Daytona Beach Track Club organizes each year a 30-mile run as the “Paul de Bruyn Memorial 30K.” In 1983 he was inducted in the Hall of Fame of Road Runners.

Personal Best: Mar – 2-33:37 (1932).

Results

Games Discipline (Sport) / Event NOC / Team Pos Medal As
1932 Summer Olympics Athletics GER Paul de Bruyn
10,000 metres, Men (Olympic) DNS
Marathon, Men (Olympic) 15
1936 Summer Olympics Athletics GER Paul de Bruyn
Marathon, Men (Olympic) DNF