Lawrence Snyder (August 9, 1896 – September 25, 1982) was an American

track and field Track and field is a sport that includes athletic contests based on running, jumping, and throwing skills. The name is derived from where the sport takes place, a running track and a grass field for the throwing and some of the jumping even ...

athlete, coach, and military veteran. He served as the track and field coach at

Ohio State University The Ohio State University, commonly called Ohio State or OSU, is a public land-grant research university in Columbus, Ohio. A member of the University System of Ohio, it has been ranked by major institutional rankings among the best public ...

from 1932 to 1965. Larry Snyder was portrayed by

Jason Sudeikis Daniel Jason Sudeikis ( ; born September 18, 1975) is an American actor, comedian, producer, and writer. In the 1990s, he began his career in improv comedy and performed with ComedySportz, iO Chicago (Improv Olympic), and The Second City. In 2 ...

in the 2016 biopic, ''

Race Race, RACE or "The Race" may refer to: * Race (biology), an informal taxonomic classification within a species, generally within a sub-species * Race (human categorization), classification of humans into groups based on physical traits, and/or s ...

'', about Olympic athlete

Jesse Owens James Cleveland "Jesse" Owens (September 12, 1913March 31, 1980) was an American track and field athlete who won four gold medals at the 1936 Olympic Games. Owens specialized in the sprints and the long jump and was recognized in his lifet ...

Military career

Snyder was a pilot instructor in World War I and also served in the U.S. Navy in World War II.

Coaching career

Snyder was due to participate in the

1924 Summer Olympics The 1924 Summer Olympics (french: Jeux olympiques d'été de 1924), officially the Games of the VIII Olympiad (french: Jeux de la VIIIe olympiade) and also known as Paris 1924, were an international multi-sport event held in Paris, France. The op ...

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

as a runner, but was injured in an airplane crash a few weeks before he was due to set out. This ended his hope of an athletic career, leaving him only the option of being a coach and training others. The most heralded athlete coached by Larry Snyder was

, and Coach Snyder helped improve Jesse's techniques and performance. Other successful athletes coached by Snyder were

Dave Albritton David Donald Albritton (April 13, 1913 – May 14, 1994) was an American athlete, teacher, coach, and state legislator. He had a long athletic career that spanned three decades and numerous titles and was one of the first high jumpers to use th ...

, Glenn Davis and "Marvelous Mal" Whitfield. All told, Snyder's OSU athletes set 14 world records, won 52 All-Americans certificates and eight Olympic gold medals. Snyder was inducted into

Ohio State Varsity O Hall of Fame The Ohio State Varsity "O" Hall of Fame is the athletic hall of fame for The Ohio State University. Its purpose is to recognize individuals who have contributed to the honor and fame of the university in the field of athletics. An athlete must ha ...

in 1977.

Olympic coaching career

Snyder was the U.S. track and field assistant coach in 1952 (Helsinki) and the head coach in 1960 (Rome). Under his coaching, the 1952 USA team won 40 medals in Helsinki and the 1960 team won 32 medals in Rome.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Snyder, Larry 1896 births 1982 deaths American male hurdlers American track and field coaches Ohio State Buckeyes track and field coaches Ohio State Buckeyes men's track and field athletes Sportspeople from Canton, Ohio