George Larry James (November 6, 1947 – November 6, 2008) was an American

track athlete 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 event ...

. At the 1968 Olympics he won a gold medal in the 4 × 400 m relay and a silver in the individual 400 m.

Biography

Early life

James was born on November 6, 1947, in Mount Pleasant, New York, and took up track in seventh grade. He attended

White Plains High School White Plains Senior High School is a high school in the White Plains Public Schools system of White Plains, New York, United States. It was selected by the U.S. Department of Education as a School of Excellence in 1986–1987. The school's code ...

, where he competed in the intermediate hurdles and the triple jump, and was a member of relay teams that set national records.Litsky, Frank
"G. Larry James, Olympic Gold Medalist, Dies at 61"
''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'', November 7, 2008. Accessed November 8, 2008.

Athlete

A double medalist at the

1968 Summer Olympics The 1968 Summer Olympics ( es, Juegos Olímpicos de Verano de 1968), officially known as the Games of the XIX Olympiad ( es, Juegos de la XIX Olimpiada) and commonly known as Mexico 1968 ( es, México 1968), were an international multi-sport ev ...

Mexico City Mexico City ( es, link=no, Ciudad de México, ; abbr.: CDMX; Nahuatl: ''Altepetl Mexico'') is the capital and largest city of Mexico, and the most populous city in North America. One of the world's alpha cities, it is located in the Valley o ...

, James also set world records and won

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 ...

titles during his track career. James won the silver medal in the 400 m with his time of 43.97 seconds at the 1968 Summer Olympics, bettering the existing

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 ...

but placing him second behind teammate (and fellow Hall of Famer) Lee Evans (43.86). James added a gold medal at the Mexico City Games by running the third leg on the U.S. 4 × 400 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 ...

team, which set a

of 2:56.16 seconds, which was eventually tied in 1988 but was not beaten until 1992. James, at the age of 20 years and 10 months, set the 400 m world record of 44.1 seconds in placing second to Evans at the 1968

Olympic Trials Olympic or Olympics may refer to Sports Competitions * Olympic Games, international multi-sport event held since 1896 ** Summer Olympic Games ** Winter Olympic Games * Ancient Olympic Games, ancient multi-sport event held in Olympia, Greece bet ...

at Echo Summit,

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...

, when Evans' winning time of 44.0 was disallowed by the

IAAF World Athletics, formerly known as the International Amateur Athletic Federation (from 1912 to 2001) and International Association of Athletics Federations (from 2001 to 2019, both abbreviated as the IAAF) is the international governing body fo ...

because he wore illegal brush spike shoes. James was a double gold medalist at the 1970 World University Games, winning the 400 m hurdles and running the anchor leg on Team USA's 4 × 400 m relay team (3:03.33). As a collegian at

Villanova University Villanova University is a private Roman Catholic research university in Villanova, Pennsylvania. It was founded by the Augustinians in 1842 and named after Saint Thomas of Villanova. The university is the oldest Catholic university in Pennsy ...

under Hall of Fame coach Jumbo Elliott, James won the

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 ...

440 yd title in 1970 and

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

crowns at that distance in 1968, 1969 and 1970. At the 1968

Penn Relays The Penn Relays (also Penn Relays Carnival) is the oldest and largest track and field competition in the United States, hosted annually since April 21, 1895 by the University of Pennsylvania at Franklin Field in Philadelphia. In 2012, there were ...

, his anchor leg of 43.9 was the fastest ever run in the history of the relay carnival and sparked Villanova's scintillating comeback victory over

Rice University William Marsh Rice University (Rice University) is a Private university, private research university in Houston, Houston, Texas. It is on a 300-acre campus near the Houston Museum District and adjacent to the Texas Medical Center. Rice is ranke ...

. His finish in this race is pictured on the cover of the May 1968 issue 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. The magazine provides coverage of athletics in the United States from the high ...

.''Past Covers 1968
. Trackandfieldnews.com. Retrieved on July 14, 2015.

Coaching

The head manager for Team USA at the 2003 World Outdoor Championships, James was chair of

USATF USA Track & Field (USATF) is the United States national governing body for the sports of track and field, cross country running, road running and racewalking (known as the sport of athletics outside the US). The USATF was known between 1979 an ...

's budget committee and had recently retired after 28 years as the Dean of Athletics and Recreational Programs and Services at the

Richard Stockton College of New Jersey Stockton University is a public university in Galloway Township, New Jersey. It is part of New Jersey's public system of higher education. It is named for Richard Stockton, one of the New Jersey signers of the U.S. Declaration of Independence. ...

. The soccer and track-and-field stadium at the College is named for him, and features a large touchstone at its entrance. In addition to the bachelor's degree in business administration that he earned from Villanova, James received a

Master of Public Policy The Master of Public Policy (MPP), is one of several public policy degrees. An MPP is a master's-level professional degree that provides training in policy analysis and program evaluation at public policy schools. The MPP program places a focu ...

in 1987 from

Rutgers University Rutgers University (; RU), officially Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, is a public land-grant research university consisting of four campuses in New Jersey. Chartered in 1766, Rutgers was originally called Queen's College, and was ...

. In 2003, James was inducted into the

National Track and Field Hall of Fame The National Track and Field Hall of Fame is a museum operated by The Armory Foundation in conjunction with USA Track & Field. It is located within the Armory Foundation (the former Fort Washington Avenue Armory) at 216 Fort Washington Avenue, ...

. He died on his 61st birthday on November 6, 2008, at his home in

Galloway Township, New Jersey Galloway Township is a township in Atlantic County,in the U.S. state of New Jersey. At of total area of land and water, Galloway Township is the largest municipality in the state.colon cancer Colorectal cancer (CRC), also known as bowel cancer, colon cancer, or rectal cancer, is the development of cancer from the colon or rectum (parts of the large intestine). Signs and symptoms may include blood in the stool, a change in bowe ...

References

External links

NYTimes obituary
{{DEFAULTSORT:James, Larry 1947 births 2008 deaths American male sprinters Athletes (track and field) at the 1968 Summer Olympics Deaths from cancer in New Jersey Deaths from colorectal cancer World record setters in athletics (track and field) Medalists at the 1968 Summer Olympics Olympic gold medalists for the United States in track and field Olympic silver medalists for the United States in track and field People from Galloway Township, New Jersey People from Mount Pleasant, New York Rutgers University alumni Sportspeople from Westchester County, New York Stockton Ospreys athletic directors Stockton University faculty Villanova Wildcats men's track and field athletes Universiade medalists in athletics (track and field) White Plains High School alumni Track and field athletes from New York (state) Universiade gold medalists for the United States Medalists at the 1970 Summer Universiade