Harvey Glance

Harvey Edward Glance (March 28, 1957 – June 12, 2023) was an American sprint runner. He won gold medals in tandem with his teammates at the 4 × 100 m relay at the 1976 Summer Olympics, 1979 and 1987 Pan American Games, and 1987 World Championships.

Track and field career

Glance equaled the then 100 m world record of 9.9 twice in 1976: first on April 3 in Columbia, South Carolina and then a month later in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.<ref>1976 Year rankings by Time for 100 m. digilander.libero.it</ref> As an Auburn University student, Glance won the NCAA 100 m championships in 1976 and 1977 and 200 m championships in 1976. In 1976, he also recorded the automatic timings of 10.12 s and 10.11 s that were world junior records for 100 m.<ref>Progression of IAAF World Records 2011 Edition, Editor Imre Matrahazi, IAAF Athletics, p. 428.</ref><ref group=note>Junior athletes are those athletes who are 18 or 19 years of age on December 31 of the year of competition.</ref><ref group=note>Automatic timings only were official from January 1, 1977.</ref>

Glance finished first in the 100 m at the 1976 U.S. Olympic Trials.<ref name="usaot">R Hymans (2008) The History of the United States Olympic Trials – Track & Field Template:Webarchive. USA Track & Field</ref><ref>Template:YouTube @ 28:15</ref> At the 1976 Montreal Olympics, Glance was a disappointing fourth in 100 m, as the United States failed to win a medal in the event.<ref>Template:YouTube</ref> He then ran the opening leg in the gold medal winning American 4 × 100 m relay team.<ref>Template:YouTube</ref> At the 1979 Pan American Games, Glance was second in 100 m and won the gold medal as a member of American 4 × 100 m relay team.<ref>"US planning to leave Pan Am games in style", Galveston Daily News, July 16, 1979.</ref> He was also second in 4 × 100 m relay at the 1979 Athletics World Cup. Glance was also in line to replace James Sanford in the individual 100 m race if Sanford had not recovered in time from a muscle injury.<ref>Kenny Moore (September 3, 1979). Give The Girl A Great Big Hand. Sports Illustrated.</ref>

Glance again qualified for the team for the Olympic team for the 1980 Moscow Olympics, finishing second in the 100 m.<ref name="usaot"/> However, due to the boycott, he did not compete at the Olympics but competed in the Liberty Bell Classic (Olympic Boycott Games) instead, winning silver in the 100 m and gold in the relay. He was a recipient of one of 461 Congressional Gold Medals created especially for the spurned athletes.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>

Track coach career

Glance worked first as assistant coach at Auburn University (1990–91) and then became their head coach.<ref name="auburn">Harvey Glance. Alabama Sports Hall of Fame</ref>

In 1997, he became head Men's track and field coach at the University of Alabama.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }} University of Alabama Crimson Tide – Harvey Glance.</ref> While there, he established the 'Crimson Tide' as one of the USA's best college teams, and was able to attract many top athletes to the university including Kirani James (World 400 m champion in 2011 and Olympic 400 m champion in 2012).<ref name="cwhite">Tony Tsoukalas (April 19, 2011) Coach crosses finish line. The Crimson White, Tuscaloosa Alabama.</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }} Alabama Men's Track 2005</ref>

At the national level, Glance assumed the following roles:

• 1994 – World Junior Team in Lisbon, Portugal;<ref name="auburn"/>
• 1997 – World University Games in Sicily, Italy;<ref name="auburn"/>
• 1999 – Pan American Games in Winnipeg, Canada;<ref name="auburn"/>
• 2003 – assistant coach for Team USA at the 2003 World Championships in Paris, France;<ref name="auburn"/>
• 2006 – World junior Team in Beijing, China;<ref name="auburn"/>
• 2008 – assistant coach for Team USA at the 2008 Olympic Games;<ref name="auburn"/>
• 2009 – men's head coach for Team USA at the 2009 World Championships in Berlin, Germany.<ref name="auburn"/>

In recognition of his achievements, in 1996 he was inducted into the Alabama Sports Hall of Fame, and, most notably, he received in 2008 the Congressional Gold Medal of Freedom.<ref name="auburn"/><ref>Four to be inducted into Drake Relays Hall of Fame. godrakebulldogs.com (February 24, 2011)</ref>

In April 2011, Glance announced he was to retire from his role at Alabama at the end of the season.<ref name="cwhite"/><ref>Gentry Estes (May 24, 2010) Veteran UA track coach Harvey Glance to resign after next season. Mobile Press-Register. Retrieved April 25, 2012.</ref> Following his retirement, Glance continued to work as the personal coach of Kirani James, assisting in his journey to become an Olympic champion.<ref>Daniel Bases (August 8, 2012) "Athletics: Grenada's James misses mum's cooking"Template:Dead linkTemplate:Cbignore, Reuters.</ref>

Personal life

Glance was born in Phenix City, Alabama, the son of Wheeler and Ella Glance,<ref name="tuscnews">Cummings, Meredith. "UA Track Coach Harvey Glance", The Tuscaloosa News. Retrieved June 15, 2023.</ref> and was educated at Central High School in Phenix City.<ref name="rice">Rice, Mark. "Olympic gold medalist, Phenix City native and ex-Auburn star Harvey Glance dies at 66", Ledger-Enquirer. Retrieved June 13, 2023.</ref> There he was mentored in track by coach Joe Henderson,<ref name="tuscnews"/> who had recognized Glance's special talent.

After high school, he earned a degree in Health & Human Performance at Auburn University.<ref name="auburn"/>

Glance always recognized his potential as a coach and volunteered to work as one in Arizona whilst still an athlete.<ref name="cwhite"/> Always aware of the importance of public relations and civic responsibility, Glance was a regular visitor as a student to a veterans hospital and was selected as one of five student-athletes from the 1976 Olympics team to be invited to an NCAA Honors Luncheon with the President of the United States.<ref name="gadsden">Mel Pulliam (May 13, 1978) "Harvey Glance: the name means speed in track", Gadsden Times.</ref> His coach, Mel Rosen, was proud to state "Harvey's what I call world-class – as an athlete and as a man."<ref name="gadsden"/>

Glance died of cardiac arrest at a hospital in Mesa, Arizona, on June 12, 2023, at age 66.<ref name="rice"/>

Rankings

Glance was ranked among the best in the U.S. and the world in both the 100 and 200 m sprint events over the incredible spread of 12 seasons from 1976 to 1987, according to the votes of the experts of Track & Field News. Template:Col-begin Template:Col-2

100 meters

Year	citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>	citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
1976	4th	1st
1977	–	6th
1978	–	5th
1979	3rd	2nd
1980	6th	4th
1981	–	–
1982	–	–
1983	–	–
1984	7th	6th
1985	–	–
1986	7th	3rd
1987	–	6th

200 meters

Year	citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>	citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
1976	7th	4th
1977	–	10th
1978	10th	5th

Notes

<references group=note/>

External links

• Template:World Athletics
• T&FN Interview: Harvey GlanceTemplate:Dead link, Jon Henderschott, Track and Field News, June 1976.