View source for Larry James

{{Short description|American track athlete}}
{{Other uses|Larry James (disambiguation)}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=July 2015}}
{{Infobox sportsperson
| name           = 
| image          = Larry James 1968.jpg
| image_size     = 
| alt            = 
| caption        = Larry James in 1968
| full_name      = George Lawrence James
| birth_date     = November 6, 1947
| birth_place    = [[Mount Pleasant, New York]], United States
| death_date     = November 6, 2008 (aged 61)
| death_place    = [[Galloway Township, New Jersey]], United States
| height         = {{convert|1.81|m|ftin|abbr=on}}
| weight         = {{convert|70|kg|lb|0|abbr=on}}
| sport          = Athletics
| event          = 400 m, 400 m hurdles
| club           = Villanova Wildcats
| pb             = 400 m – 43.97 (1968)<br> 400 mH – 50.2 (1970)
| alma_mater     =
| show-medals    = yes
| medaltemplates = 
{{MedalCountry | the {{USA}} }}
{{MedalOlympics}}
{{MedalGold | [[1968 Summer Olympics|1968 Mexico City]] | [[Athletics at the 1968 Summer Olympics – Men's 4 × 400 metres relay|4 × 400 m relay]]}}
{{MedalSilver |1968 Mexico City| [[Athletics at the 1968 Summer Olympics – Men's 400 metres|400 m]]}}
}}

'''George Lawrence "Larry" James''' (November 6, 1947 – November 6, 2008), also known as '''James Swift''',<ref>{{cite web |title=Villanova Captures Indoor Track Title |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-times-mail-villanova-captures-indoor/148740294/ |website=The Times-Mail |access-date=5 June 2024 |pages=14 |date=17 March 1968}}</ref> was an American [[Track and field|track athlete]]. At the 1968 Olympics he won a gold medal in the 4 × 400 m relay and a silver in the individual 400 m.<ref name=sr>{{cite Sports-Reference |url=https://www.sports-reference.com/olympics/athletes/ja/larry-james-1.html |title=Larry James |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200417171604/https://www.sports-reference.com/olympics/athletes/ja/larry-james-1.html |archive-date=2020-04-17}}</ref>

==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 Senior High School|White Plains High School]], where he competed in the intermediate hurdles and the triple jump, and was a member of relay teams that set national records.<ref name=NYTObit>Litsky, Frank. [https://www.nytimes.com/2008/11/08/sports/othersports/08james.html "G. Larry James, Olympic Gold Medalist, Dies at 61"], ''[[The New York Times]]'', November 7, 2008. Accessed November 8, 2008.</ref>

===Athlete===
A double medalist at the [[1968 Summer Olympics]] in [[Mexico City]], James also set world records and won [[National Collegiate Athletic Association|NCAA]] 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 progression 400 metres men|world record]] but placing him second behind teammate (and fellow Hall of Famer) [[Lee Evans (athlete)|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 race|relay]] team, which set a [[world record]] 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 [[United States Olympic Trials (track and field)|Olympic Trials]] at [[Echo Summit]], [[California]], when Evans' winning time of 44.0 was disallowed by the [[International Amateur Athletic Federation|IAAF]] 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]] under Hall of Fame coach [[Jumbo Elliott (athletics)|Jumbo Elliott]], James won the [[NCAA Men's Outdoor Track and Field Championship]] 440 yd title in 1970 and [[NCAA Men's Indoor Track and Field Championship]] crowns at that distance in 1968, 1969 and 1970. At the 1968 [[Penn Relays]], 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]]. His finish in this race is pictured on the cover of the May 1968 issue of ''[[Track and Field News]].''<ref>[https://www.trackandfieldnews.com/index.php/archivemenu/28-covers/137-past-covers-1967 Past Covers 1968] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304034405/https://www.trackandfieldnews.com/index.php/archivemenu/28-covers/137-past-covers-1967 |date=March 4, 2016 }}. Trackandfieldnews.com. Retrieved on July 14, 2015.</ref>

===Coaching===
The head manager for Team USA at the [[2003 World Championships in Athletics|2003 World Outdoor Championships]], James was chair of [[USATF]]'s budget committee and had recently retired after 28 years as the Dean of Athletics and Recreational Programs and Services at the [[Stockton University|Richard Stockton College of New Jersey]]. 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]] in 1987 from [[Rutgers University]].<ref name=NYTObit/>

In 2003, James was inducted into the [[National Track and Field Hall of Fame]].<ref name=WP/>

He died on his 61st birthday on November 6, 2008, at his home in [[Galloway Township, New Jersey]] of [[colon cancer]].<ref name=NYTObit/><ref name=WP>{{cite news |newspaper=Washington Post|title=Olympic Runner Larry James|page=C6|date=November 9, 2008}}</ref>

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
* {{World Athletics}}
* {{USATF}}
* {{Olympics.com profile|george-lawrence-james}}
* {{Olympedia}}
* [https://www.nytimes.com/2008/11/08/sports/othersports/08james.html?em NYTimes obituary]
* [https://ramscrosscountry.blogspot.com/2008/05/larry-james-mighty-burner-still-burns.html The Mighty Burner Still Burns Bright]

{{Footer Olympic Champions 4x400 m Men|1968}}
{{Footer Universiade Champions 400m Hurdles Men}}
{{Footer Universiade Champions 4x400 m Men}}
{{Footer USA Track & Field 1968 Summer Olympics}}
{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:James, Larry}}
[[Category:1947 births]]
[[Category:2008 deaths]]
[[Category:American men sprinters]]
[[Category:Athletes (track and field) at the 1968 Summer Olympics]]
[[Category:Deaths from colorectal cancer in New Jersey]]
[[Category:World record setters in the sport of athletics]]
[[Category:Medalists at the 1968 Summer Olympics]]
[[Category:Olympic gold medalists for the United States in track and field]]
[[Category:Olympic silver medalists for the United States in track and field]]
[[Category:People from Galloway Township, New Jersey]]
[[Category:Sportspeople from Mount Pleasant, New York]]
[[Category:Track and field athletes from Westchester County, New York]]
[[Category:Rutgers University alumni]] <!-- Master's -->
[[Category:Stockton Ospreys athletic directors]]
[[Category:Stockton University faculty]]
[[Category:Villanova Wildcats men's track and field athletes]]
[[Category:Universiade medalists in athletics (track and field)]]
[[Category:White Plains High School alumni]]
[[Category:FISU World University Games gold medalists for the United States]]
[[Category:Medalists at the 1970 Summer Universiade]]
[[Category:NCAA Division I Outdoor Track and Field Championships winners]]
[[Category:NCAA Division I Indoor Track and Field Championships winners]]
[[Category:20th-century American sportsmen]]