James Aaron Butts (born May 9, 1950) is a retired American

triple jump The triple jump, sometimes referred to as the hop, step and jump or the hop, skip and jump, is a track and field event, similar to the long jump. As a group, the two events are referred to as the "horizontal jumps". The competitor runs down th ...

er. He won a silver medal at the 1976 Olympics and a bronze at the 1979 Pan American Games. He was inducted into the

UCLA Athletics Hall of Fame The UCLA Bruins are the athletic teams that represent the University of California, Los Angeles. The Bruin men's and women's teams participate in NCAA Division I as part of the Pac-12 Conference and the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation (MPS ...

in 2014. Butts won the 1976 U.S. Olympic Trials with a wind-aided 17.29 m, just short of the existing world record at the time. He narrowly missed making the team in 1972 and again in 1980, finishing in fourth place each time (the last time by a mere 1 cm).Hymans, Richard (2004
The history of the U.S. Olympic trials : track & field
. USA Track & Field Butts won the 1972

NCAA Men's Outdoor Track and Field Championship The NCAA Men's Outdoor Track and Field Championship refers to one of three annual collegiate outdoor track and field competitions for men organised by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) for athletes from institutions that make up ...

s while competing for the

University of California at Los Angeles The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California. UCLA's academic roots were established in 1881 as a teachers college then known as the southern branch of the California ...

. While training for the Olympics, he worked two jobs including as a janitor, to support his mother and sister. He had to train at 5 am as it was the only time that fit his schedule.

References

American male triple jumpers Olympic silver medalists for the United States in track and field Athletes (track and field) at the 1976 Summer Olympics Athletes (track and field) at the 1979 Pan American Games Living people 1950 births UCLA Bruins men's track and field athletes Track and field athletes from Los Angeles Medalists at the 1976 Summer Olympics Pan American Games medalists in athletics (track and field) Pan American Games bronze medalists for the United States Medalists at the 1979 Pan American Games {{US-athletics-Olympic-medalist-stub