John Farrell

Who was John Farrell?

John O'Neil Farrell was an American speed skater and speed skating coach.

John Farrell participated in the 1928 Winter Olympics of St. Moritz. On the 500 m, he skated in the first pair and promptly set a new Olympic record with a time of 43.6 seconds, breaking Charles Jewtraw's old record of 44.0 seconds. The record would not stand, though, because in the next pair, Clas Thunberg skated 43.4 seconds, and in the eighth pair, Bernt Evensen also skated 43.4. But since nobody else besides those two skated faster than 43.6, Farrell won the bronze medal.

At the 1932 Winter Olympics of Lake Placid, the speed skating events were skated in packstyle format for the only time in Olympic history. Farrell qualified for the final in his heat, but he finished in sixth place in the final. Two weeks later, he finished fourteenth at the 1932 World Allround Championships, also in Lake Placid. At the 1936 Winter Olympics of Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Farrell was coach of the United States speed skating team.

Farrell also was a National Outdoor Champion. He was inducted in the National Speedskating Hall of Fame in 1971.