Jerome Drayton was one of the top long-distance runners of the 1970s and the last Canadian man to win the Boston Marathon.
- Died: February 10, 2025 (Who else died on February 10?)
- Details of death: Died in Toronto during knee surgery at the age of 80.
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Jerome Drayton’s legacy
Drayton’s 2:10:09 time at the 1975 Fukuoka Marathon was a mark so dominant, it was a Canadian record for 43 years. And it wasn’t even the first time he held the record.
Born in Germany as Peter Buniak, Drayton immigrated to Canada when he was 11 and changed his name 13 years later in 1969. His love and talent for running became evident when he won the Ontario high school championship for Mimico High School in 1963.
By the late ‘60s, he was making his mark on the wider long-distance running world. He won the 1969 Motor City Marathon in Detroit, setting the North American record time in the process. Later that year, he won his first of three Fukuoka Marathons, again setting a new record, then winning back-to-back in 1975 and ‘76. Going into and throughout the ‘70s, Drayton was consistently a top 10 runner when he competed all over the world.
He had a great run from 1976 to 1978, competing in the ’76 Olympics, winning his third Fukuoka, coming in second in the New York City Marathon and Commonwealth Games, and crucially, winning the Boston Marathon in 1977. The victory in Boston was Canada’s first in decades, and as of Drayton’s passing, is the last time a Canadian man won the event. The victory came during a time when water was not made available to runners on the course, a policy he publicly lambasted, resulting in a change for the ’78 marathon That year, he was inducted into Canada’s Sports Hall of Fame.
Drayton held 12 national titles and set over a dozen records over the course of his career. Including his record-setting time in 1969, Drayton held the Canadian record marathon time for 49 years of his life. It is now held by Cam Levins, set in 2018.
Tributes to Jerome Drayton
Full obituary: The Globe and Mail
