Gary M. Fanelli (born October 24, 1950)[1] is a long-distance runner from the United States who represented American Samoa in the marathon at the 1988 Summer Olympics in Seoul, South Korea.
[8] Wearing a shirt that read "The Road to Moscow Ends Here" in order to protest the American boycott of the Summer Olympics, he jumped out front at the start and by 11 miles had extended his lead over the pack to 150 yards.
[17] In 1998 Gary Fanelli and USATF Olympic Development Official Stacey Chambers, Co-Founded the Puma USA Road Racing Track and Field Team.
[4][5][18] Sports Illustrated reported that Fanelli's first race as Elwood Blues was a 10K event in Southampton, Pennsylvania, where he played a few bars of "I Can't Turn You Loose" as he crossed the finish line in first place.
[4][5][18][21][22] In the 1984 Toronto Marathon, Fanelli ran a costumed best of 2:30:40 dressed as Michael Jackson with a red leather jacket, sequined glove, and curly black wig.
[23] Dressed in a summer version of "Polyesther" that he described as "patio wear from Sears" (a straw hat, Hawaiian shirt, and large Bermuda shorts), Fanelli set a national record[nb 2] at the second running of the Jamaica International Marathon on January 19, 1985.
[5][18][24] His 2:24:41 performance concluded with him running backwards and dancing reggae style over the final 100 yards prior to faking a hamstring injury with ten feet to go and crawling across the finish like a snake.
[3] Some of Fanelli's other original characters include "Clarence Nerdelbaum", a nerd with a calculator and a pocket protector full of pens and pencils; "Yogi High Karma, a wacko guru"; "Dr. Outrageous", a hip neurosurgeon; and "Gary Wallstreet", a businessman who raced around Manhattan's financial district wearing business attire and carrying an attache case.