James Ralph "Jim" Dunbar (July 17, 1930 – May 14, 2018) was an American

competition rower Rowing, sometimes called crew in the United States, is the sport of racing boats using oars. It differs from paddling sports in that rowing oars are attached to the boat using oarlocks, while paddles are not connected to the boat. Rowing i ...

and Olympic champion. He was born in Crawfordsville, Indiana. At the

1952 Summer Olympics The 1952 Summer Olympics ( fi, Kesäolympialaiset 1952; sv, Olympiska sommarspelen 1952), officially known as the Games of the XV Olympiad ( fi, XV olympiadin kisat; sv, Den XV olympiadens spel) and commonly known as Helsinki 1952 ( sv, Helsin ...

in Helsinki, Finland, he and his teammates, all members of the U.S. Naval Academy's Crew Team, captured the gold medal in the men's eight rowing competition for the U.S. Following his Olympic win, Dunbar graduated from the United States Naval Academy and joined the U.S. Air Force where he spent his career as a fighter pilot, retiring as a full colonel in 1982. He flew an F-105 Thunderchief in combat in the Vietnam War, and received the Distinguished Flying Cross. He has stayed connected to the sport of rowing by coaching high school rowing teams, including the J.E.B. Stuart High School Crew Team in Fairfax County, Virginia. He has also raised money for local rowing teams and was involved in choosing the site for rowing competition in the 1996 Olympic Games in Atlanta.

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* 1930 births 2018 deaths People from Crawfordsville, Indiana Rowers at the 1952 Summer Olympics Olympic gold medalists for the United States in rowing Recipients of the Distinguished Flying Cross (United States) American male rowers Medalists at the 1952 Summer Olympics {{US-rowing-Olympic-medalist-stub