Jerome Drayton, 1976 Olympian and last Canadian man to win Boston Marathon in '77, dies at 80

Canadian Jerome Drayton, 32, from Toronto, crowned with traditional laurel wreath, smiles happily in the dressing room Monday, April 19, 1977, after winning the Boston A.A. Marathon in two hours, 14 minutes, and 46 seconds. (AP Photo/File)

Jerome Drayton, who finished sixth at the Montreal Olympics, won the 1977 Boston Marathon and held the Canadian men’s marathon record for 43 years, has died. He was 80.

Drayton died unexpectedly on Monday in Toronto, according to Cardinal Funeral Homes. Runners World magazine said he died during knee surgery.

Born in Germany with the name Peter Buniak, Drayton changed his name after immigrating to Canada in 1956. He won Detroit’s Motor City Marathon in 1969 in a North American record time of 2 hours, 12 minutes, and shaved 47 seconds off the mark in winning the Fukuoka Marathon in Japan later that year.

He won the 1973 Canadian championship before finishing third in Boston in 1974. Three years later — his fifth try in Boston — he pulled ahead when eventual four-time winner Bill Rodgers began to tire in the 77-degree heat and gave Canada its first victory in the race in three decades. Drayton finished second at the New York Marathon that fall.

“Jerome remains the most recent Open Division Men’s Champion from Canada, and set the stage for generations of world class Canadian marathoners to follow in his footsteps,” Boston Athletic Association President Jack Fleming said.

Drayton also set a world record on the track for the 10-mile run in 1970 in 46:37.6, and was the top Canadian in the men’s marathon at the 1976 Olympics in Montreal. The Canada Sports Hall of Fame, which inducted him in 1978, said that Drayton held 12 national titles and set 13 records in his career.

After retiring, Drayton worked as a consultant with the Sports and Fitness Division of Ontario’s Ministry of Youth, Culture and Recreation.

“He was a runner who cared not only about his own performance but the growth and development of the sport,” Fleming said. “The feedback and interest he showed in the Boston Marathon undoubtedly helped shape the marathon in the late 70s and beyond.”

The Associated Press