Runners World magazine said Boston Marathon winner Jerome Drayton died during knee surgery.
Born in Germany with the name Peter Buniak, Jerome changed his name after immigrating to Canada in 1956.
Highlights
- Jerome Drayton died on February 10, 2025, from the complications of knee surgery.
- After retirement, Jerome worked with the Sports and Fitness Division of Ontario’s Ministry of Youth, Culture, and Recreation.
- His mother took him to Toronto in November 1956.
Jerome won Detroit’s Motor City Marathon in 1969 in a North American record time of 2 hours, 12 minutes. Later that year, he shaved 47 seconds off the mark by winning the Fukuoka Marathon in Japan.
He won the 1973 Canadian championship before finishing third in Boston in 1974.
Three years later, on his fifth try in Boston, he pulled ahead when eventual four-time winner Bill Rodgers began to tire in the 77-degree heat, giving Canada its first victory in the race in three decades.
He also set a world record on the track for the 10-mile run in 1970, 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, Jerome consulted with the Sports and Fitness Division of Ontario’s Ministry of Youth, Culture, and Recreation.
Long-Distance Runner Jerome Drayton Unexpectedly Passed Away During Knee Surgery
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, died on Monday, February 10, 2025, at 80 in Toronto.
As per Runners World magazine, he died from complications during knee surgery. Boston Athletic Association President Jack Fleming said,
“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,” “He was a runner who cared not only about his own performance but the growth and development of the sport,” “The feedback and interest he showed in the Boston Marathon undoubtedly helped shape the marathon in the late 70s and beyond.”
Jack Fleming
Toronto Waterfront Marathon poured a small tribute to Jerome through their official Facebook handle by stating,
The Canadian running community mourns the loss of Jerome Drayton, who passed away on February 10, 2025, at the age of 80. Drayton was a true pioneer in Canadian distance running, holding the Canadian men’s marathon record for 43 years with his incredible 2:10:08 performance at the 1975 Fukuoka Marathon. Drayton originally set the Canadian record in 1969, just one month after Robert Moore’s previous mark of 2:18:55. His record stood until Cam Levins broke it in October 2018, running 2:09:25 at the TCS Toronto Waterfront Marathon. A three-time Fukuoka Marathon champion, 1977 Boston Marathon winner, and two-time Olympian (1968 & 1976), Drayton’s achievements defined an era in Canadian distance running. His legacy of determination and excellence continues to inspire generations.Thank you, Jerome, for showing us what is possible.
Toronto Waterfront Marathon
Jeff Benjamin, running columnist at Staten Island Advance, sent his heartfelt condolence to Jerome through his official Facebook handle. He wrote,
Jerome Dayton, 1977 Boston marathon champion died yesterday. Bill Rodgers told RBR senior writer Jeff Benjamin the following about Jerome: “Jerome Drayden the Great Canadian marathoner passed away yesterday. I had spoken with him about a week before on the occasion of his 80th birthday some of his Canadian friends contacted me and we had a great conversation. He was a wonderful person and one of Canada’s greatest athletes in their history and someone who helped build the Boston Marathon into a better quality Marathon. A winner of the Boston Marathon and three time winner of the Fukuoka International Marathon in Japan one of the world’s great marathons rest in peace Jerome!
Jeff Benjamin
Although his passing marks the end of an era, his achievements will always inspire runners worldwide.
Close ones and relatives have condoned Drayton’s family to stay strong in this challenging time.
Rest in Peace, Jerome Drayton.
Jerome Drayton’s Parents Placed Him In A Foster Home
Jerome Drayton was born on January 10, 1945, in Bavarian, Germany, to his mother, Sonia Huziuk, and his father, whose identity was not revealed.
Drayton and his parents had traveled to Germany from Poland aboard a cattle train.
As an only child, he had difficulty growing up in Germany, which had been decimated in the Second World War.
His Russian-Ukrainian parents were not Jewish, but they were placed in a concentration camp because they had tuberculosis.
Jerome was placed in a foster home at the age of six by his parents and lived there for four years. He had a hard time there because he did not understand German.
In 2009, Jerome told Canadian Running magazine,
“Not speaking German, I got in a lot of fights,”
Jerome Drayton
After his parents divorced, his mother, Sonia, who had custody of him, moved to Canada and brought Drayton to Toronto in November 1956 when he was 11. She found a job as a hospital worker in Toronto.
When he moved to Canada, Jerome was known as a displaced person. Growing up in Ontario, he struggled to fit in with his Canadian classmates.
Additional Information
- Jerome reportedly based his new name on two famous sprinters he admired: Canadian former world record holder Harry Jerome and American Paul Drayton, former world record holder in the 4*100m as part of the American relay team.
- After winning the Ontario high school championships for Mimico High School, he was recruited to the Toronto Olympic Club, where he started working with national distance running coach Paul Poce.
- Drayton had an estimated net worth of around $5 million at his death.
