John Pius Boland

John Mary Pius Boland (September 16, 1870 – March 17, 1958) was an Irish Nationalist politician, and Member of Parliament (MP) in the House of Commons of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and as member of the Irish Parliamentary Party for South Kerry 1900-1918.

He was the first Olympic champion in tennis for Great Britain and Ireland.

Boland studied law in Dublin, Birmingham and Christ's College (Oxford University). He also studied in Bonn, Germany, where he was a member of Bavaria Bonn, a student fraternity that is member of the Cartellverband.

Boland visited his friend Thrasyvoalos Manaos in Athens during the 1896 Summer Olympics. Manaos, a member of the organizing committee, entered Boland in the tennis tournament. Boland promptly won the singles tournament, defeating Friedrich Traun of Germany in the first round, Evangelos Rallis of Greece in the second, Konstantinos Paspatis of Greece in the semifinals, and Dionysios Kasdaglis of Egypt in the final.

Boland then entered the doubles event with Traun, the German runner whom he had defeated in the first round of the singles. Together, they won the doubles event. They defeated Aristidis and Konstantinos Akratopoulos of Greece in the first round, had a bye in the semifinals, and defeated Demetrios Petrokokkinos of Greece and Kasdaglis in the final.

External links

* [http://www.olympic.org/uk/athletes/heroes/bio_uk.asp?par_i_id=58185 Biography from the International Olympic Committee (IOC)]