Irish American Athletic Club - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

The Irish American Athletic Club was an amateur athletic organization, based in Queens, New York at the beginning of the 20th Century.

Early years

Established on January 30, 1898, originally as the "Greater New York Irish Athletic Association", they shortened the name to the Irish American Athletic Club a few years later. They purchased a plot of land in what was then called Laurel Hill, Long Island, near Calvary Cemetery, Queens

Calvary Cemetery, Queens

The Roman Catholic Calvary Cemetery in Queens has the largest number of interments of any cemetery in the United States.The offices of Calvary Cemetery are located at 49-02 Laurel Hill Blvd. in Woodside in the New York City borough of Queens, New York. The cemetery is managed by the Trustees of...

, and built a state-of-the-art athletic facility on what was farmland. The stadium, called Celtic Park, formally reopened after renovations on May 9, 1901, and until the facility was sold for housing in 1930, some of the greatest American athletes trained or competed on Celtic Park's track and field, drawing crowds over 20,000 strong. The Irish American Athletic Club adopted a winged fist adorned with American flags and shamrocks as their emblem, with the Irish Gaelic motto ‘Láim Láidir Abú’ or ‘Strong Hands Forever,' and were often referred to as the 'Winged Fists'. At one time they had clubs in Boston, Chicago, San Francisco and Yonkers, New York.

Athletes

During the thirty odd years of its existence, all of the following athletes competed for the Irish American Athletic Club at some point; Dan Ahearn, and his brother Tim Ahearne

Tim Ahearne

Tim Ahearne was an Irish athlete who competed for the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland in the 1908 Summer Olympics....

, Charles Bacon

Charles Bacon

Charles Joseph Bacon, Jr. was an American athlete and a member of the Irish American Athletic Club and the New York City Police Department...

, George Bonhag

George Bonhag

George Valentine Bonhag was an American athlete and a member of the Irish American Athletic Club and the New York City Police Department.He was born in Boston and died in New York City....

, Joseph Bromilow

Joseph Bromilow

Joseph M. Bromilow, Jr. was an American athlete. He competed in the 1908 Summer Olympics in London and in the 1912 Summer Olympics in Stockholm, Sweden....

, Frank Castleman

Frank Castleman

-External links:* * at College Basketball at Sports-Reference.com...

, Robert Cloughen

Robert Cloughen

Robert "Bobbie" Cloughen was an American athlete, a member of the Irish American Athletic Club, and a member of the 1908 U.S. Olympic team...

, Harvey Cohn

Harvey Cohn

Harvey Wright Cohn was an American track and field athlete and a member of the Irish American Athletic Club. A native of New York City, Cohn competed in the 1904 Summer Olympics, the 1906 Intercalated Games in Athens and 1908 Summer Olympics in London.In 1904 he was eighth in 1500 m competition...

, Tom Collins

Tom Collins (athlete)

.Thomas J. "Tom" Collins was an Irish born athlete who became a distance runner after immigrating to the United States. He competed for the Xavier Athletic Club and the Irish American Athletic Club....

, Edward Cook, James Crowley

James Crowley (athlete)

James F. "Jim" Crowley was an American athlete, distance runner, and a member of the Irish American Athletic Club. In 1910, he was known as "King of the Marathoners" for having competed in and won more marathons than any of the athletes of his day....

, John Daly

John Daly (athlete)

John Daly was an Irish athlete who won a silver medal in the 1904 Summer Olympics...

, James H. Duncan

James Duncan (athlete)

James Duncan was an American athlete, a member of the Mohawk Athletic Club, the Bradhurst Field Club and the Irish American Athletic Club. He competed mainly in the discus throw. Duncan was a member of the U.S...

, John Eller

John Eller

John Jacob Eller, Jr. was born in New Jersey and died in Cutchogue, New York. He was an American track and field athlete, a member of the Irish American Athletic Club and a member of the New York City Police Department from 1905 to 1942...

, John Flanagan, William Frank

William Frank (athlete)

William Frank was an American athlete who competed mainly in the Marathon. Frank was a member of the Irish American Athletic Club and the Twenty-Second Regiment of the New York National Guard...

, Patrick J. Flynn, Harry Gissing

Harry Gissing

Harry E. Gissing was an American track and field athlete, a member of the New York Athletic Club, Mohawk Athletic Club, and the Irish American Athletic Club. In 1911, he was part of a world's record setting team in the 4x400 meter relay race.In 1908, Gissing won the A.A.U half-mile championship...

, Sidney Hatch

Sidney Hatch

Sidney Hatch was an American athlete who competed for the United States in the 1904 Summer Olympics held in St Louis, United States in the 4 mile team where he won the silver medal with his team mates James Lightbody, Frank Verner, Lacey Hearn and Frenchman Albert Corey.Sidney Hatch was also a...

, Johnny Hayes

Johnny Hayes

John "Johnny" Joseph Hayes was an American athlete, a member of the Irish American Athletic Club, and winner of the marathon race at the 1908 Summer Olympics...

, Denis Horgan

Denis Horgan

Denis Horgan was a champion Irish athlete and weight thrower, born in Banteer, County Cork, who competed mainly in the shot put....

, Bill Horr

Bill Horr

-External links:* * at Syracuse Hall of Fame*...

, Daniel Kelly, Abel Kiviat

Abel Kiviat

Abel Richard Kiviat was an American middle distance track event middle distance runner.-Career:...

, Hannes Kolehmainen

Hannes Kolehmainen

Juho Pietari "Hannes" Kolehmainen was a Finnish long-distance runner. He is considered to be the first of a generation of great Finnish long distance runners, often named the "Flying Finns". Kolehmainen competed for a number of years in the United States, wearing the Winged Fist of the Irish...

, Emilio Lunghi

Emilio Lunghi

Emilio Lunghi was an Italian athlete. He won the silver medal in the men's 800 metres race at the 1908 Summer Olympics in London, making him the first Italian to win an Olympic medal....

, Alvah Meyer

Alvah Meyer

Alvah T. Meyer was an American athlete who competed mainly in the 100 metres. He was Jewish, and was one of a number of Jewish members of the Irish American Athletic Club, which also included Abel Kiviat and Myer Prinstein.He was born in New York City and died in Tucson, Arizona.In 1914 he set a...

, James Mitchell

James Mitchell (athlete)

James Sarsfield "Jim" Mitchel was born in Tipperary, Ireland, and, as an athlete, represented the United States at the 1904 Summer Olympics. Mitchell competed as a member of the New York Athletic Club at the games, which were held in St Louis, Missouri. In the 56 lb weight throw he won the...

, Pat McDonald, Matt McGrath

Matt McGrath

Matthew John “Matt” McGrath was a member of the Irish American Athletic Club, the New York Athletic Club, and the New York City Police Department. At the time of his death at age 65, he attained the rank of Inspector, and during his career received the NYPD's Medal of Valor twice. He competed for...

, Emil Muller

Emil Muller (athlete)

Emil Joseph Muller was an American track and field athlete and a member of the Irish American Athletic Club who competed in the discus throwing events in the 1912 Summer Olympics. Muller was the Amateur Athletic Union discus champion 1912-14 and 1918...

, Peter O'Connor

Peter O'Connor

Peter O'Connor was an Irish athlete who set a long-standing world record for the long jump and won two Olympic medals in the 1906 Games.-Early career:...

, Edwin Pritchard

Edwin Pritchard

Edwin M. Pritchard was an American track and field athlete and a member of the Irish American Athletic Club who competed in the 1912 Summer Olympics.He was born in Jersey City, New Jersey and died in Wheaton, Illinois....

, Harry Porter

Harry Porter

For the Fictional character, see Harry Potter.Harry Franklin Porter was a high jumper from the United States of America. He was a member of the Irish American Athletic Club, and won gold in the High Jump in the 1908 Summer Olympics at a mark of 6'3"...

, Myer Prinstein

Myer Prinstein

Myer Prinstein was an American athlete and member of the Irish American Athletic Club...

, Richard Remer

Richard Remer

Richard Frederick Remer was an American athlete who competed mainly in the 3 kilometre walk. Early in his athletic career, he competed as a member of the Irish American Athletic Club....

, John J. Reynolds

John J. Reynolds

John James Reynolds was an American track and field athlete, and a member of the Irish American Athletic Club. He was part of the U.S...

, Frank Riley

Frank Riley

Frank N. Riley was an American athlete, and member of the Irish American Athletic Club. He was a member of the U.S. Olympic team in the 1908 Summer Olympics in London....

, William Robbins

William Robbins (athlete)

William Robbins was an American athlete and a member of the Irish American Athletic Club.He was born in Cambridge, Massachusetts....

, Lawson Robertson

Lawson Robertson

Lawson N. Robertson was born in Aberdeen, Scotland, and died in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania....

, James Rosenberger

James Rosenberger

James Maher Rosenberger was an American track and field athlete and a member of the Irish American Athletic Club. He was born in New York City and died in Brooklyn, New York....

, Michael J. Ryan, Pat Ryan

Patrick Ryan (athlete)

Patrick James Ryan was an Irish hammer thrower who won the Gold medal as a member of the U.S. Olympic team at the 1920 Summer Olympics in Antwerp, Belgium, winning the event by the biggest winning margin in history...

, Harry Schaaf

Harry Schaaf

Henry "Harry" Schaaf was an American track and field athlete, a member of the Irish American Athletic Club, and a Police Officer in the New York City Police Department...

, Arthur Shaw, Mel Sheppard

Mel Sheppard

Melvin Whinfield "Peerless Mel" Sheppard was an American athlete, member of the Irish American Athletic Club and winner of four gold medals at the 1908 Summer Olympics and 1912 Summer Olympics...

, Martin Sheridan

Martin Sheridan

Martin John Sheridan was "one of the greatest athletes [the United States] has ever known" according to his obituary in the New York Times. He was born in Bohola, County Mayo, Ireland and died in St. Vincent's Hospital in Manhattan, New York, the day before his 37th birthday, a very early casualty...

, James P. Sullivan, Lee Talbott, Dr.John Baxter Taylor, Jr., Con Walsh

Con Walsh

Con Walsh was an Irish Canadian athlete who represented Canada at the 1908 Summer Olympics. He won a bronze medal in the hammer throw, finishing third behind fellow Irishmen John Flanagan and Matt McGrath, both of whom represented the United States...

and Harold Wilson

Harold A. Wilson

Harold Allan Wilson was an English athlete. Born in Horncastle, Lincolnshire, England, he won the silver medal in the men's 1500 metres race at the 1908 Summer Olympics in London, competing on the Great Britain and Ireland team...

Non-Irish Members

The Irish American Athletic Club was predominantly composed of Irish born and first generation Irish American

Irish American

Irish Americans are citizens of the United States who can trace their ancestry to Ireland. A total of 36,278,332 Americans—estimated at 11.9% of the total population—reported Irish ancestry in the 2008 American Community Survey conducted by the U.S. Census Bureau...

athletes, but many of the athletes who competed for the Winged Fist organization were neither. Non-Irish members of the Irish American Athletic Club included; Bruno Brodd

Bruno Brodd

Bruno Brodd was an American track and field athlete, born in Finland, who specialized in the javelin throw. He competed for the Irish American Athletic Club and the Kaleva Athletic Club.-1910 American Javelin Champion:...

, Joseph Bromilow

Joseph Bromilow

Joseph M. Bromilow, Jr. was an American athlete. He competed in the 1908 Summer Olympics in London and in the 1912 Summer Olympics in Stockholm, Sweden....

, John Eke

John Eke

John Eke was a Swedish athlete who competed in cross country and long-distance run....

, Egon Erickson

Egon Erickson

Egon R. Erickson was an American track and field athlete, a member of the Mott Haven Athletic Club, the Irish American Athletic Club and the New York City Police Department from 1911 until his retirement in 1939...

, Myer Prinstein

Myer Prinstein

Myer Prinstein was an American athlete and member of the Irish American Athletic Club...

, Abel Kiviat

Abel Kiviat

Abel Richard Kiviat was an American middle distance track event middle distance runner.-Career:...

, Hannes Kolehmainen

Hannes Kolehmainen

, Alvah Meyer

Alvah Meyer

, Lawson Robertson

Lawson Robertson

Lawson N. Robertson was born in Aberdeen, Scotland, and died in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania....

, Harold Wilson, Emilio Lunghi

Emilio Lunghi

Emilio Lunghi was an Italian athlete. He won the silver medal in the men's 800 metres race at the 1908 Summer Olympics in London, making him the first Italian to win an Olympic medal....

and John Baxter Taylor, Jr. (the first African American to win an Olympic gold medal). Myer Prinstein

Myer Prinstein

Myer Prinstein was an American athlete and member of the Irish American Athletic Club...

, competing as a the member of the Irish American Athletic Club in St. Louis 1904

1904 Summer Olympics

The 1904 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the III Olympiad, was an international multi-sport event which was celebrated in St. Louis, Missouri, in the United States from 1 July 1904, to November 23, 1904, at what is now known as Francis Field on the campus of Washington University...

, won both the long jump

Long jump

The long jump is a track and field event in which athletes combine speed, strength, and agility in an attempt to leap as far as possible from a take off point...

and the hop, step and jump

Triple jump

The triple jump is a track and field sport, similar to the long jump, but involving a “hop, bound and jump” routine, whereby the competitor runs down the track and performs a hop, a bound and then a jump into the sand pit.The triple jump has its origins in the Ancient Olympics and has been a...

( now called the triple jump

Triple jump

) on the same day, the only athlete ever to win both events in the same games. He also came 5th in both the 60 m dash and 400 m. In Athens 1906

1906 Summer Olympics

The 1906 Intercalated Games or 1906 Olympic Games were an international multi-sport event which was celebrated in Athens, Greece. They were at the time considered to be Olympic Games and were referred to as the "Second International Olympic Games in Athens" by the International Olympic Committee...

he again won the long jump competition, beating the world record holder, Irishman, Peter O'Connor

Peter O'Connor

Peter O'Connor was an Irish athlete who set a long-standing world record for the long jump and won two Olympic medals in the 1906 Games.-Early career:...

. Swedish-born Ernie Hjertberg, himself a US track and field champion, was appointed coach and recruited outstanding non-Irish athletes. Under his leadership, the IAAC turned into a national track power.

National Championships and Olympic Medals

The Irish American Athletic Club won the Amateur Athletic Union

Amateur Athletic Union

The Amateur Athletic Union is one of the largest non-profit volunteer sports organizations in the United States. A multi-sport organization, the AAU is dedicated exclusively to the promotion and development of amateur sports and physical fitness programs.-History:The AAU was founded in 1888 to...

National Outdoor Track and Field team championship titles in; 1904, 1906, 1907, 1908, 1910, 1911, 1912, 1913, 1914, and 1916. They also won the National Indoor Track and Field team championship titles in; 1906, 1908, 1909, 1911, 1913, 1914 and 1915. Individual athletes of the IAAC won 81 National outdoor Championships titles and 36 individual National Indoor Championship titles. From 1900 to 1924, men who were at one time members of the Irish American Athletic Club won 54 Olympic medals for the U.S. Olympic team, including 26 gold medals.

Olympic Participation

In addition to winning numerous local and regional Amateur Athletic Union

Amateur Athletic Union

competitions, Irish American Athletic Club members competed for the U.S. Olympic team in the 1900 Olympic Games in Paris

Paris

Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...

, the 1904 Olympic Games in St. Louis, the 1906 Intercalated Games in Athens, Greece, the 1908 Olympics in London, the 1912 Olympics in Stockholm

Stockholm

Stockholm is the capital and the largest city of Sweden and constitutes the most populated urban area in Scandinavia. Stockholm is the most populous city in Sweden, with a population of 851,155 in the municipality , 1.37 million in the urban area , and around 2.1 million in the metropolitan area...

and the 1920 Olympic Games in Antwerp.

1908 Olympics

In the 1908 Olympic Games, in London, England, members of the Irish American Athletic Club won 10 of the U.S. Olympic teams total 23 gold medals, or as many as the nations of France

France

The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...

, Germany

Germany

Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...

, and Italy

Italy

Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...

combined. The members of the Irish American Athletic Club who were medalists in the 1908 Olympic Games were; Charles Bacon

Charles Bacon

Charles Joseph Bacon, Jr. was an American athlete and a member of the Irish American Athletic Club and the New York City Police Department...

, 400 meter hurdles, Gold; George Bonhag

George Bonhag

George Valentine Bonhag was an American athlete and a member of the Irish American Athletic Club and the New York City Police Department.He was born in Boston and died in New York City....

, 3 mile team race, Silver; Robert Cloughen

Robert Cloughen

Robert "Bobbie" Cloughen was an American athlete, a member of the Irish American Athletic Club, and a member of the 1908 U.S. Olympic team...

, 200 metres

200 metres

A 200 metres race is a sprint running event. On an outdoor 400 m track, the race begins on the curve and ends on the home straight, so a combination of techniques are needed to successfully run the race. A slightly shorter race, called the stadion and run on a straight track, was the first...

race, Silver; John Flanagan, Hammer Throw

Hammer throw

The modern or Olympic hammer throw is an athletic throwing event where the object is to throw a heavy metal ball attached to a wire and handle. The name "hammer throw" is derived from older competitions where an actual sledge hammer was thrown...

, Gold; Johnny Hayes

Johnny Hayes

John "Johnny" Joseph Hayes was an American athlete, a member of the Irish American Athletic Club, and winner of the marathon race at the 1908 Summer Olympics...

, Marathon

Marathon

The marathon is a long-distance running event with an official distance of 42.195 kilometres , that is usually run as a road race...

, Gold; Bill Horr

Bill Horr

-External links:* * at Syracuse Hall of Fame*...

, Discus

Discus

Discus, "disk" in Latin, may refer to:* Discus , a progressive rock band from Indonesia* Discus , a fictional character from the Marvel Comics Universe and enemy of Luke Cage* Discus , a freshwater fish popular with aquarium keepers...

-Free Style, Bronze, Discus

Discus

-Greek Style, Silver; Matt McGrath

Matt McGrath

, Hammer Throw

Hammer throw

, Silver; Harry Porter

Harry Porter

, High Jump

High jump

The high jump is a track and field athletics event in which competitors must jump over a horizontal bar placed at measured heights without the aid of certain devices in its modern most practiced format; auxiliary weights and mounds have been used for assistance; rules have changed over the years....

, Gold; Melvin Sheppard, 800 metres

800 metres

The 800 meter race is a common track running event. It is the shortest common middle distance track event. The 800 meter is run over two laps of the track and has always been an Olympic event. During indoor track season the event is usually run on a 200 meter track, therefore requiring four laps...

race, Gold, 1,500 metres race, Gold, 1,600 metres medley relay

Distance Medley Relay

The distance medley relay is an athletic event in which four athletes compete as part of a relay. Unlike most track relays, each member of the team runs a different distance. A distance medley relay is made up of a 1200 meter leg, or three laps on a standard 400 meter track; a 400 meter leg, or one...

, Gold; and Martin Sheridan

Martin Sheridan

, Discus

Discus

-Free Style, Gold, Discus

Discus

-Greek Style, Gold, and Standing Long Jump

Long jump

The long jump is a track and field event in which athletes combine speed, strength, and agility in an attempt to leap as far as possible from a take off point...

, Bronze; and John Baxter Taylor, Jr., who passed the baton to Mel Sheppard

Mel Sheppard

Melvin Whinfield "Peerless Mel" Sheppard was an American athlete, member of the Irish American Athletic Club and winner of four gold medals at the 1908 Summer Olympics and 1912 Summer Olympics...

, to win the Gold in the 1,600 meter medley relay

Distance Medley Relay

, becoming the first African-American to win an Olympic gold medal

Gold medal

A gold medal is typically the medal awarded for highest achievement in a non-military field. Its name derives from the use of at least a fraction of gold in form of plating or alloying in its manufacture...

. Other Irish American Athletic Club members of the 1908 U.S. Olympic team included; Joseph Bromilow

Joseph Bromilow

Joseph M. Bromilow, Jr. was an American athlete. He competed in the 1908 Summer Olympics in London and in the 1912 Summer Olympics in Stockholm, Sweden....

, Harvey Cohn

Harvey Cohn

, Daniel Kelly, Frank Riley

Frank Riley

Frank N. Riley was an American athlete, and member of the Irish American Athletic Club. He was a member of the U.S. Olympic team in the 1908 Summer Olympics in London....

, William Robbins

William Robbins (athlete)

William Robbins was an American athlete and a member of the Irish American Athletic Club.He was born in Cambridge, Massachusetts....

, Lawson Robertson

Lawson Robertson

Lawson N. Robertson was born in Aberdeen, Scotland, and died in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania....

, Michael J. Ryan, James P. Sullivan and Lee Talbott.

1910 Point Champions

"With a grand total of 2,001 points gained by their track and field men in 1910, the Irish-American Athletic Club had put to its credit a score said to be greater than that of any similar aggregation of athletes during any single year," according to the New York Times. "Eighty-nine men contributed to this splendid showing, gaining points only in track and field games."

1912 Olympics

Thirteen members of the Irish American Athletic Club competed as part of the U.S. Olympic team at the 1912 Olympic Games in Stockholm, Sweden, winning a total of five gold medals, four silver medals and one bronze medal

Bronze medal

A bronze medal is a medal awarded to the third place finisher of contests such as the Olympic Games, Commonwealth Games, etc. The practice of awarding bronze third place medals began at the 1904 Olympic Games in St...

. The IAAC medalists on the 1912 U.S. Olympic team were; George Bonhag

George Bonhag

George Valentine Bonhag was an American athlete and a member of the Irish American Athletic Club and the New York City Police Department.He was born in Boston and died in New York City....

, 3,000 meter team race, Abel Kiviat

Abel Kiviat

Abel Richard Kiviat was an American middle distance track event middle distance runner.-Career:...

, Gold, 3,000 meter team race and Silver, 1,500 meter race; Pat McDonald, Gold, Shot Put and Silver, Shot Put, Both Hands; Mel Sheppard

Mel Sheppard

Melvin Whinfield "Peerless Mel" Sheppard was an American athlete, member of the Irish American Athletic Club and winner of four gold medals at the 1908 Summer Olympics and 1912 Summer Olympics...

, Gold, 4 × 400 meter relay and Silver, 800 meter race; Matt McGrath

Matt McGrath

, Gold, Hammer Throw, Alvah Meyer

Alvah Meyer

, Silver, 100 meter race and Jim Duncan

James Duncan (athlete)

, Discus Throw, Bronze. The other IAAC members of the 1912 U.S. Olympic team were; John Eller

John Eller

, Emil Muller

Emil Muller (athlete)

, Edwin Pritchard

Edwin Pritchard

, John J. Reynolds

John J. Reynolds

John James Reynolds was an American track and field athlete, and a member of the Irish American Athletic Club. He was part of the U.S...

, James Rosenberger

James Rosenberger

James Maher Rosenberger was an American track and field athlete and a member of the Irish American Athletic Club. He was born in New York City and died in Brooklyn, New York....

, and Michael J. Ryan.

Final Championship Title – 1916

Before the largest crowd that had ever assembled to see a track meet in the United States, on September 9, 1916, the Irish American Athletic Club defeated the New York Athletic Club at the Amateur Athletic Union's National Championships, by a score of 38 to 27. Before a crowd of 30,000 spectators at Newark, New Jersey

Newark, New Jersey

Newark is the largest city in the American state of New Jersey, and the seat of Essex County. As of the 2010 United States Census, Newark had a population of 277,140, maintaining its status as the largest municipality in New Jersey. It is the 68th largest city in the U.S...

's Weequahic Park

Weequahic Park

Weequahic Park is a park located in the south ward of Newark, New Jersey. Designed by the Olmsted Brothers firm, Weequahic Park has the largest lake in Essex County. The park opened on what had been the Waverly Fairgrounds. The word "Weequahic" in the name of the park is from the Lenni-Lenape...

, the Irish-American Athletic Club won what would be their last national championship title. The club disbanding a year later, when the U.S. became a combatant in the First World War.

External links

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