Category: Athlete-Builder

Inducted: Thursday, July 15, 2010

Dennis Furlong fashioned an athletics career that is overflowing with remarkable personal achievements as an athlete and valuable contributions as an administrator and official, in both his native Newfoundland and Labrador and in New Brunswick where he resides. As a medical doctor and as a politician, he has made outstanding contributions to the communities in which he lived.

His track and field successes began in the early 1950’s as he excelled in winning victor ludorum and setting records in St. Bon's sports days and Christian Brothers Track Meets. At 17 he won seven events at the provincial championships. At the University of New Brunswick he was undefeated in the quarter mile and half mile for several years and ran cross country in 1965 and 1966.

In 1966 and 1967 he competed in the Atlantic indoor championships in Halifax and, against national carded athletes, earned "athlete of the meet." He coached 1969 Newfoundland and Labrador Canada Games track and field team, male and female, while doing well as an athlete in the decathlon. He was head coach again for the 1973 Canada Games.

As an official he became a level four national field referee, an international race walk judge and an international technical official. He did the technical direction for the Canada Games Track Meet in 1985 in Saint John, New Brunswick, several other international track meets, and the World Junior Championships in 1988. He has been a race walk judge at many national and international events including the Americas Cup in 1987.

The IAAF and the IOC have entertained Dr. Furlong’s presentation of his ground contact monitoring race walk shoe invention in Monaco and he made presentations in the United Kingdom, Mexico and the United States.

At 56 he began an astounding record of winning medals and posting exceptional performances in age-group competitions.

He was president of Athletics New Brunswick from 2004 to 2007, sat on the board of Athletics Canada, New Brunswick Minister of Sport and Recreation from 2001 to 2003 and the minister responsible for Canada Games 2001 and Canada Games 2003.

His versatility is demonstrated by the outstanding range of events in which he competed. His best times and distances, in brackets, are 50 yards (5.4 sec); 75 yards (7.6sec); 100 yards (9.9 sec);220 yards (21.8 sec); 440 yards (49.4 sec); 880 yards (1 min 57 sec); 1 mile (4 min 26 sec); 5 miles (24 min 50 sec); 10 miles (52 min); marathon (2 hr 54 min); long jump (22 ft); discus 2kg, (110 ft); hammer, 16 lb (120 ft); triple jump (39 ft); pole vault (10 ft); 1 mile race walk (7 min 30 sec); 5 mile race walk (40 min); 20 mile race walk (3 hr 20 min); decathlon (5000 points).