Paul DE BRUYN

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).