Hayes' Olympic victory contributed to the early growth of long-distance running and marathoning in the United States.

[5] Born in New York City to a family of Irish emigrants (from Nenagh in County Tipperary), Johnny Hayes is probably best known for winning the controversial marathon race at the London Olympics.

Hayes is one of only three male American athletes to win the Olympic Marathon, (the other two being Thomas Hicks in 1904 and Frank Shorter in 1972).

During all these stumbles and the direct aid from the officials, Hayes had now entered the stadium, finishing the race second, with a time of 2h 55min 18s.

Despite the official result, Pietri achieved much more fame than Hayes when Queen Alexandra awarded him a special silver cup.

After the dramatic Olympic battle between Pietri and Hayes, public interest was such that a match race was organized by professional promoters in November 1908 at Madison Square Garden.

Johnny Hayes was a guest on the television show I've Got a Secret as one of five former Olympic champions, which aired on October 13, 1954.