James Patrick Hannan (24 August 1884 – 1957) was the last of six New Zealand oarsman who attempted to win the World Sculling Championship title.
He had a successful amateur career and then went to Sydney, Australia, to take tutelage from George Towns and Harry Floyd before turning professional.
A title match for the single sculls championship of New Zealand was arranged between Australian William (Billy) Fogwell (holder) and Hannan which was to be rowed in Sydney in March 1914.
The First World War curtailed sports but in 1920 Hannan challenged Fogwell for the single sculls Championship of New Zealand.
Richard Arnst, a New Zealander, was the holder of the Single Sculls World Title as he had won it by default from Ernest Barry.
Arnst had earlier been the World Champion by winning races and wanted to defend this otherwise empty Title so he accepted a challenge from Hannan.
Later it was reported that Hannan was a better sculler than the result might have indicated as had picked the wrong side of the course to his detriment, that his boat was too light for the conditions and it was incorrectly rigged.
When asked by a reporter in 1926, of how he became interested in rowing, he explained how for a period of three years, he had trained under private tuition for the boxing ring.
In 1912, Pat paid a holiday visit to Australia he decided on a more serious approach to rowing after meeting such professionals as George Towns (rower) and Harry Floyd and took a course of tuition under them.
On Wednesday 21 January 1914, Hannan defeated Archie Priddle, the ex-amateur champion of Australia, over a course of three miles on Lake Albert, near Wagga .
In January 1915, during a visit to Grovetown, near Picton Pat was so impressed with the fine stretch of row-able water the Wairau River had to offer, that he decided to train there for the Webb challenge.
On 29 October, the following year Pat Hannan won the New Zealand Sculling Championship when he rowed against Fred (Jumbo) Wells, a renowned cyclist, winning easily by ten lengths.
James Patrick Hannan retired from sculling after his victory over Jim Mason at Whangarei in 1929, at the age of 45 years.
The following year a match was arranged between William (Bill) McDevitt, the Champion of New South Wales, and Hannan for the Australasian Championship.
Because of the dissention, a rematch on the same course of three and a quarter miles was raced on 28 February and it resulted in Hannan being the victor by a good margin.
Arnst broke part of his right scull on a piece of driftwood near the start but he later said that it had made no difference to the result of the race.