James Sanford (born December 27, 1957) is a retired

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 eve ...

sprinter from the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

. He was champion at the

100 metres The 100 metres, or 100-meter dash, is a sprint race in track and field competitions. The shortest common outdoor running distance, the dash is one of the most popular and prestigious events in the sport of athletics. It has been conteste ...

at the 1979 IAAF Athletics World Cup in Montreal. He also held the best time for the 100 metres at a low altitude for one year, a time of 10.02 seconds, until

Carl Lewis Frederick Carlton Lewis (born July 1, 1961) is an American former track and field athlete who won nine Olympic gold medals, one Olympic silver medal, and 10 World Championships medals, including eight gold. His career spanned from 1979 to 1996 ...

improved this record to 10.00 seconds in May 1981.

Career

While running for Pasadena High School, Sanford won the 400 metres, anchored his team to victory in the

4x400 metres relay Four-wheel drive, also called 4×4 ("four by four") or 4WD, refers to a two-axled vehicle drivetrain capable of providing torque to all of its wheels simultaneously. It may be full-time or on-demand, and is typically linked via a transfer case ...

and was second in the 200 metres (a race brother Michael was to win the next two years) at the 1977 CIF California State Meet. After high school, he moved on to the

University of Southern California , mottoeng = "Let whoever earns the palm bear it" , religious_affiliation = Nonsectarian—historically Methodist , established = , accreditation = WSCUC , type = Private research university , academic_affiliations = , endowment = $8.1 ...

. Here he enjoyed great track success over the next four years. Sanford still holds the school records in the 100 metres and 200 metres - a statement all the more impressive considering some of the people who have been through the program including Olympic sprint Gold Medalists

Lennox Miller Lennox Valencia Miller (8 October 1946 in Kingston, Jamaica – 8 November 2004 in Pasadena, California) was a champion runner and father of Inger Miller. Representing Jamaica, Miller won the silver medal in the 100 meters in the 1968 Summ ...

Don Quarrie Donald O'Riley Quarrie CD (born 25 February 1951) is a Jamaican former track and field athlete, one of the world's top sprinters during the 1970s. At the 1976 Summer Olympics he was the gold medallist in the Olympic 200 meters and silver med ...

, Mel Patton and

Quincy Watts Quincy D. Watts (born June 19, 1970) is an American former athlete, and two time gold medallist at the 1992 Summer Olympics. Career Born in Detroit, Michigan, Quincy Watts attended the University of Southern California (USC) where he excelled ...

. Along with brother Michael he also is on the school record holding 4x100 metres relay team. Sanford originally considered himself a 200/400 metres runner and it was only in 1979 that he started to concentrate on the 100 meters. This change resulted in wins that year in the

NCAA championships 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 and ...

and US National Championships 100 meters events. A History Of The Results Of The National Track & Field Championships Of The USA From 1876 Through 2003, Track and Field News, Retrieved 3 February 2012. The win in the national championships qualified Sanford for the USA team at the

1979 IAAF World Cup The 2nd IAAF World Cup in Athletics was an international track and field sporting event sponsored by the International Association of Athletics Federations, held on August 24–26, 1979, at Olympic Stadium in Montreal, Quebec, Canada Canad ...

where he became champion at 100 metres. Sanford picked up a muscle injury in a race in Berlin seven days earlier and was a doubt to run (

Harvey Glance Harvey Edward Glance (born March 28, 1957) is a former American sprint runner. He won gold medal in 4 × 100 m relay at the 1976 Olympics, 1987 World Championships, and 1979 and 1987 Pan American Games. Track and field career Glance equaled th ...

was to be his substitute). It was also suggested that he anchor the United States 4 × 100 m relay team but in the end United States team coach, Sam Bell, favoured the experience of Steve Riddick. Sanford was considered the favorite in the lead-up to the

1980 Summer Olympics boycott The 1980 Summer Olympics boycott was one part of a number of actions initiated by the United States to protest against the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan. The Soviet Union, which hosted the 1980 Summer Olympics in Moscow, and its allies later ...

-marred United States Olympic Trials (track and field). However, he suffered an early-season defeat by a young

, then finished third in the 100 metres at the NCAA championships before finally injuring himself in the 200 metres there, ending his season.http://www.legacy.usatf.org/statistics/champions/OlympicTrials/HistoryOfTheOlympicTrials.pdf The History of the United States Olympic Trials - Track & Field, R Hymans, USA Track & Field, 2008 (He also did not qualify for the 1984 Olympics, only finishing 5th in his semi-final of the 100 m.) On May 11, 1980 at a meet in

Westwood, Los Angeles, California Westwood is a commercial and residential neighborhood in the northern central portion of the Westside region of Los Angeles, California. It is the home of the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). Bordering the campus on the south ...

, Sanford set the unofficial low altitude world record in the

at 10.02 s,E L Quercetani & G Pallicca, A World History of Sprint Racing 1850-2005, p 311 a mark which stood for just over a year, when it was improved by

to 10.00 s.E L Quercetani & G Pallicca, A World History of Sprint Racing 1850-2005, p 313 In 1981 he set the world's best year performance in the men's

200 metres The 200 metres, or 200-meter dash, is a sprint running event. On an outdoor 400 metre racetrack, the race begins on the curve and ends on the home straight, so a combination of techniques is needed to successfully run the race. A slightl ...

clocking 20.20 s on 10 May at a meet in Westwood, Los Angeles.

Rankings

Sanford was ranked among the best in the US and the world in both the 100 and 200 m sprint events from 1978 to 1981, 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 ...

''.

USA Championships

Sanford was a very successful competitor in the USA National Track and Field Championships between 1978 and 1981:

References

External links

Track and Field News Cover, June 1980

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sanford, James 1957 births Living people American male sprinters Place of birth missing (living people) Track and field athletes from California Pasadena High School (California) alumni USC Trojans men's track and field athletes USA Outdoor Track and Field Championships winners

Career

Rankings

USA Championships

References

Further reading

External links