By Jack Heath
http://ramscrosscountry.blogspot.com
When F. Scott Fitzgerald said: \”There are no second acts in American lives\” he obviously had never met anyone like Larry James. Larry James has had a second and third act at least as good as his first– Olympic gold medal winner and world record holder.
Of course Larry is best known as a member of the 1968 United States Olympic 4×400 relay team which held the oldest American running record in track and field 2:56.16, and for winning the Olympic silver medal in the 400 that year. Many long time track and field fans recall Larry\’s winning 400 leg for Villanova in the 1968 Penn Relays– named one of the 10 greatest moments in Penn Relays history– where the \”Mighty Burner\” ran a 43 second leg beating a Baylor runner who ran \”only\” a 45 second leg. Long time Villanova coach Jack Pyrah called it the greatest race he had ever seen.
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