Harvey Edward Glance (born March 28, 1957) is a former
American
American(s) may refer to:
* American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America"
** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America
** American ancestry, pe ...
sprint runner. He won gold medal in 4 × 100 m
relay
A relay
Electromechanical relay schematic showing a control coil, four pairs of normally open and one pair of normally closed contacts
An automotive-style miniature relay with the dust cover taken off
A relay is an electrically operated switch ...
at the 1976 Olympics, 1987 World Championships, and 1979 and 1987 Pan American Games.
Track and field career
Glance equaled the then 100 m
world record
A world record is usually the best global and most important performance that is ever recorded and officially verified in a specific skill, sport, or other kind of activity. The book ''Guinness World Records'' and other world records organization ...
of
9.9 twice in 1976: first on April 3 in
Columbia and then a month later in
Baton Rouge
Baton Rouge ( ; ) is a city in and the capital of the U.S. state of Louisiana
Louisiana , group=pronunciation (French: ''La Louisiane'') is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It is the 20th-sma ...
. As an
Auburn University
Auburn University (AU or Auburn) is a public land-grant research university in Auburn, Alabama. With more than 24,600 undergraduate students and a total enrollment of more than 30,000 with 1,330 faculty members, Auburn is the second largest uni ...
student, Glance won the
NCAA
The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. It also organizes the athletic programs of colleges an ...
100 m championships in 1976 and 1977 and 200 m championships in 1976. In 1976, he also recorded the automatic timings of 10.12 s and 10.11 s that were world junior records for 100 m.
[Junior athletes are those athletes who are 18 or 19 years of age on December 31 of the year of competition.][Automatic timings only were official from January 1, 1977.]
Glance finished first in the 100 m at the 1976 USA Olympic Trials.
[R Hymans (2008]
The History of the United States Olympic Trials – Track & Field
USA Track & Field @ 28:15
At the
1976 Montreal Olympics, Glance was a disappointing fourth in 100 m, as the United States failed to win a medal in the event. He then ran the opening leg in the gold medal winning American 4 × 100 m relay team. At the 1979
Pan American Games
The Pan American Games (also known colloquially as the Pan Am Games) is a continental multi-sport event in the Americas featuring summer sports, in which thousands of athletes participate in a variety of competitions. The competition is held ...
, Glance was second in 100 m and won the gold medal as a member of American 4 × 100 m relay team. He was also second in 4 × 100 m relay at the
1979 Athletics World Cup. Glance was also in line to replace
James Sanford in the individual 100 m race if Sanford had not recovered in time from a muscle injury.
Glance again qualified for the team for the Olympic team for the
1980 Moscow Olympics, finishing second in the 100 m.
However, due to the boycott, he did not compete at the Olympics but competed in the
Liberty Bell Classic
The Liberty Bell Classic was a track and field athletics event organized by the Athletics Congress as part of the 1980 Summer Olympics boycott and held at Franklin Field at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia on July 16 and 17, 1980 ...
(
Olympic Boycott Games) instead, winning silver in the 100 m and gold in the relay. He was a recipient of one of 461
Congressional Gold Medal
The Congressional Gold Medal is an award bestowed by the United States Congress. It is Congress's highest expression of national appreciation for distinguished achievements and contributions by individuals or institutions. The congressional pract ...
s created especially for the spurned athletes. He also won the gold medal at the
1985 Athletics World Cup,
1987 Pan American Games
The 1987 Pan American Games, officially known as the X Pan American Games, was a major international multi-sport event held in Indianapolis, Indiana, United States, on August 7–23, 1987. Over 4,300 athletes from 38 countries in the Americas c ...
and
1987 World Championships as a member of the American 4 × 100 m relay teams.
Track coach career
He worked first as assistant coach at Auburn University (1990–91) and then became their head coach.
[Harvey Glance](_blank)
Alabama Sports Hall of Fame
In 1997, he became head track and field coach at the
University of Alabama
The University of Alabama (informally known as Alabama, UA, or Bama) is a Public university, public research university in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. Established in 1820 and opened to students in 1831, the University of Alabama is the oldest and la ...
. While there, he established the 'Crimson Tide' as one of the USA's best college teams, and was able to attract many top athletes to the university including
Kirani James
Kirani James (born 1 September 1992) is a Grenadian professional sprinter who specializes in the 200 and 400 metres. He won the 400 m at the World Championships in 2011 and the 2012 London Olympics. In the 400 metres James also won the sil ...
(World 400 m champion in 2011 and Olympic 400 m champion in 2012).
[Tony Tsoukalas (April 19, 2011]
Coach crosses finish line
''The Crimson White'', Tuscaloosa Alabama.
At the national level, Glance assumed the following roles:
* 1994 – World Junior Team in Lisbon, Portugal;
* 1997 – World University Games in Sicily, Italy;
* 1999 – Pan American Games in Winnipeg, Canada;
* 2003 – assistant coach for Team USA at the 2003 World Championships in Paris, France;
* 2006 – World junior Team in Beijing, China;
* 2008 – assistant coach for Team USA at the
2008 Olympic Games;
* 2009 – men's head coach for Team USA at the 2009 World Championships in Berlin, Germany.
In recognition of his achievements, in 1996 he was inducted into the Alabama Sports Hall of Fame, and, most notably, he received in 2008 the
Congressional Gold Medal
The Congressional Gold Medal is an award bestowed by the United States Congress. It is Congress's highest expression of national appreciation for distinguished achievements and contributions by individuals or institutions. The congressional pract ...
of Freedom.
In April 2011, Glance announced he was to retire from his role at Alabama at the end of the season.
Since retiring, Glance has continued to work as the personal coach of Kirani James, assisting in his rise to become Olympic champion.
Personal life
Glance was born in
Phenix City, Alabama
Phenix City is a city in Lee and Russell counties in the U.S. state of Alabama, and the county seat of Russell County. As of the 2020 Census, the population of the city was 38,817.
Phenix City lies immediately west across the Chattahoochee R ...
, the son of Mr and Mrs Wheller Glance.
[Mel Pulliam (May 13, 1978]
"Harvey Glance: the name means speed in track"
''Gadsden Times''. and was educated at Central High School in Phenix City. There he was mentored in track by his high school drivers’ education teacher, Joe Henderson, who had recognised Glance's special talent.
After high school, he earned a degree in Health & Human Performance at Auburn University.
Glance always recognized his potential as a coach and volunteered to work as one in Arizona whilst still an athlete.
Always aware of the importance of public relations and civic responsibility, Glance was a regular visitor as a student to a veterans hospital and was selected as one of five student-athletes from the 1976 Olympics team to be invited to an NCAA Honors Luncheon with the
President of the United States
The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States of America. The president directs the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United Stat ...
.
His coach, the well-renowned
Mel Rosen
Melvin "Mel" Rosen (March 24, 1928 – March 25, 2018) was an American track coach.
He was head coach of the Auburn University Tigers track team for 28 years, from 1963 to 1991, during which time the team won four consecutive Southeastern Confere ...
, was proud to state "Harvey's what I call world-class – as an athlete and as a man."
Rankings
Glance was ranked among the best in the US and the world in both the 100 and 200 m sprint events over the incredible spread of 12 seasons from 1976 to 1987, according to the votes of the experts of ''
Track and Field News
''Track & Field News'' is an American monthly sports magazine founded in 1948 by brothers Bert Nelson and Cordner Nelson, focused on the world of track and field
Track and field is a sport that includes athletic contests based on runni ...
''.
Notes
References
External links
*
T&FN Interview: Harvey Glance
Jon Henderschott, Track and Field News, June 1976.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Glance, Harvey
1957 births
American male sprinters
African-American male track and field athletes
Athletes (track and field) at the 1976 Summer Olympics
Athletes (track and field) at the 1979 Pan American Games
Athletes (track and field) at the 1987 Pan American Games
Auburn Tigers track and field coaches
Auburn Tigers men's track and field athletes
Living people
Medalists at the 1976 Summer Olympics
Olympic gold medalists for the United States in track and field
Sportspeople from Columbus, Georgia
Pan American Games gold medalists for the United States
Pan American Games silver medalists for the United States
Pan American Games medalists in athletics (track and field)
People from Phenix City, Alabama
World Athletics Championships medalists
World Athletics Championships athletes for the United States
Congressional Gold Medal recipients
Universiade medalists in athletics (track and field)
Track and field athletes from Alabama
Goodwill Games medalists in athletics
Alabama Crimson Tide track and field coaches
Universiade bronze medalists for the United States
World Athletics Championships winners
Medalists at the 1977 Summer Universiade
Competitors at the 1986 Goodwill Games
Medalists at the 1979 Pan American Games
Medalists at the 1987 Pan American Games
21st-century African-American people
20th-century African-American sportspeople