Wikipedia

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.

Harvey Glance
Glance in 1980
Personal information
Full nameHarvey Edward Glance
NationalityAmerican
Born(1957-03-28)March 28, 1957[1]
Phenix City, Alabama, U.S.[2]
DiedJune 13, 2023(2023-06-13) (aged 66)
Mesa, Arizona, U.S.
Height5 ft 8 in (173 cm)[2]
Weight150 lb (68 kg)[2]
Sport
SportAthletics
Event(s)Sprint, long jump
College teamAuburn Tigers
Achievements and titles
Personal best(s)100 yd – 9.4 (1975)
100 m – 10.05 (1985)
200 m – 20.25 (1983)
LJ – 7.87 m (1977)[2]
Medal record
Representing the  United States
Olympic Games
Gold medal – first place 1976 Montreal 4×100 m relay
World Championships
Gold medal – first place 1987 Rome 4×100 m relay
Pan American Games
Gold medal – first place 1979 San Juan 4×100 m relay
Gold medal – first place 1987 Indianapolis 4×100 m relay
Silver medal – second place 1979 San Juan 100 m
Olympic Boycott Games
Gold medal – first place 1980 Philadelphia 4×100 m relay
Silver medal – second place 1980 Philadelphia 100 metres
World Cup
Gold medal – first place 1985 Canberra 4×100 m relay

Track and field career

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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.[3] 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.[4][note 1][note 2]

Glance finished first in the 100 m at the 1976 U.S. Olympic Trials.[5][6] 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.[7] He then ran the opening leg in the gold medal winning American 4 × 100 m relay team.[8] 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.[9] 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.[10]

Glance again qualified for the team for the Olympic team for the 1980 Moscow Olympics, finishing second in the 100 m.[5] 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.[11]

Track coach career

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Glance worked first as assistant coach at Auburn University (1990–91) and then became their head coach.[12]

In 1997, he became head Men's track and field coach at the University of Alabama.[13] 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).[14][15]

At the national level, Glance assumed the following roles:

  • 1994 – World Junior Team in Lisbon, Portugal;[12]
  • 1997 – World University Games in Sicily, Italy;[12]
  • 1999 – Pan American Games in Winnipeg, Canada;[12]
  • 2003 – assistant coach for Team USA at the 2003 World Championships in Paris, France;[12]
  • 2006 – World junior Team in Beijing, China;[12]
  • 2008 – assistant coach for Team USA at the 2008 Olympic Games;[12]
  • 2009 – men's head coach for Team USA at the 2009 World Championships in Berlin, Germany.[12]

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.[12][16]

In April 2011, Glance announced he was to retire from his role at Alabama at the end of the season.[14][17] Following his retirement, Glance continued to work as the personal coach of Kirani James, assisting in his journey to become an Olympic champion.[18]

Personal life

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Glance was born in Phenix City, Alabama, the son of Wheeler and Ella Glance,[19] and was educated at Central High School in Phenix City.[20] There he was mentored in track by coach Joe Henderson,[19] who had recognized Glance's special talent.

After high school, he earned a degree in Health & Human Performance at Auburn University.[12]

Glance always recognized his potential as a coach and volunteered to work as one in Arizona whilst still an athlete.[14] 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.[21] His coach, Mel Rosen, was proud to state "Harvey's what I call world-class – as an athlete and as a man."[21]

Glance died of cardiac arrest at a hospital in Mesa, Arizona, on June 12, 2023, at age 66.[20]

Rankings

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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.

Notes

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  1. ^ Junior athletes are those athletes who are 18 or 19 years of age on December 31 of the year of competition.
  2. ^ Automatic timings only were official from January 1, 1977.

References

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  1. ^ Harvey Glance. IAAF
  2. ^ a b c d Evans, Hilary; Gjerde, Arild; Heijmans, Jeroen; Mallon, Bill; et al. "Harvey Glance". Olympics at Sports-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on April 17, 2020.
  3. ^ 1976 Year rankings by Time for 100 m. digilander.libero.it
  4. ^ Progression of IAAF World Records 2011 Edition, Editor Imre Matrahazi, IAAF Athletics, p. 428.
  5. ^ a b R Hymans (2008) The History of the United States Olympic Trials – Track & Field Archived March 27, 2016, at the Wayback Machine. USA Track & Field
  6. ^ Video on YouTube @ 28:15
  7. ^ 1976 Montreal Olympic 100m final on YouTube
  8. ^ 1976 Montreal Olympic 4x100m final on YouTube
  9. ^ "US planning to leave Pan Am games in style", Galveston Daily News, July 16, 1979.
  10. ^ Kenny Moore (September 3, 1979). Give The Girl A Great Big Hand. Sports Illustrated.
  11. ^ Tom Caroccioli; Jerry Caroccioli (May 2008). Boycott: Stolen Dreams of the 1980 Moscow Olympic Games. Highland Park, IL: New Chapter Press. pp. 243–253. ISBN 978-0942257403.
  12. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Harvey Glance. Alabama Sports Hall of Fame
  13. ^ "Harvey Glance". rolltide.com. Archived from the original on January 15, 2010. Retrieved March 2, 2012. University of Alabama Crimson Tide – Harvey Glance.
  14. ^ a b c Tony Tsoukalas (April 19, 2011) Coach crosses finish line. The Crimson White, Tuscaloosa Alabama.
  15. ^ "Head Coach Harvey Glance" (PDF). Alabama Men's Track. 2005. Archived from the original (PDF) on March 4, 2016. Retrieved March 2, 2012. Alabama Men's Track 2005
  16. ^ Four to be inducted into Drake Relays Hall of Fame. godrakebulldogs.com (February 24, 2011)
  17. ^ Gentry Estes (May 24, 2010) Veteran UA track coach Harvey Glance to resign after next season. Mobile Press-Register. Retrieved April 25, 2012.
  18. ^ Daniel Bases (August 8, 2012) "Athletics: Grenada's James misses mum's cooking"[dead link‍], Reuters.
  19. ^ a b Cummings, Meredith. "UA Track Coach Harvey Glance", The Tuscaloosa News. Retrieved June 15, 2023.
  20. ^ a b Rice, Mark. "Olympic gold medalist, Phenix City native and ex-Auburn star Harvey Glance dies at 66", Ledger-Enquirer. Retrieved June 13, 2023.
  21. ^ a b Mel Pulliam (May 13, 1978) "Harvey Glance: the name means speed in track", Gadsden Times.
  22. ^ "World Rankings Index—Men's 100 meters" (PDF). Track & Field News. Archived from the original (PDF) on June 9, 2013. Retrieved March 1, 2012.
  23. ^ "U.S. Rankings Index—Men's 100 meters" (PDF). Track and Field News. Archived from the original (PDF) on June 9, 2013. Retrieved March 1, 2012.
  24. ^ "World Rankings Index—Men's 200 meters" (PDF). Track and Field News. Archived from the original (PDF) on September 14, 2011. Retrieved March 1, 2012.
  25. ^ "U.S. Rankings Index—Men's 200 meters" (PDF). Track and Field News. Archived from the original (PDF) on February 13, 2012. Retrieved March 1, 2012.
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Records
Preceded by Men's World Junior Record Holder, 100 metres
June 20, 1976 – July 30, 1978 		Succeeded by
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