James Henry Duncan (September 25, 1887 – January 21, 1955) was an American

discus throw The discus throw (), also known as disc throw, is a track and field sport in which the participant athlete throws an oblate spheroid weight (object), weight called a discus in an attempt to mark a further distance than other competitors. It is a ...

er who won a bronze medal at the

1912 Summer Olympics The 1912 Summer Olympics (), officially known as the Games of the V Olympiad () and commonly known as Stockholm 1912, were an international multi-sport event held in Stockholm, Sweden, between 6 July and 22 July 1912. The opening ceremony was he ...

.Jim Duncan
. Sports-reference.com During

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

he rose to the rank of Lieutenant in the

U.S. Army The United States Army (USA) is the primary land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of the United Stat ...

World record

Duncan was the first holder of the official world discus record. On May 26, 1912, he hurled the discus with his right hand 156 feet 1¾ inches (47.59) at the

Irish American Athletic Club The Irish American Athletic Club was an amateur athletic organization, based in Queens, New York, at the beginning of the 20th century. Early years Established on January 30, 1898, originally as the "Greater New York Irish Athletic Association", ...

's track & field, Celtic Park in

Queens, New York Queens is the largest by area of the Boroughs of New York City, five boroughs of New York City, coextensive with Queens County, in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. Located near the western end of Long Island, it is bordered by the ...

. On the same day, he hurled the discus 96 feet 7.5 inches, with his left hand, breaking the world's record for right and left hands combined with a distance of 252 feet 8 and 7/8 inches.''New York Times'', April 27, 1932. This throw was recognized by the

IAAF World Athletics, formerly known as the International Amateur Athletic Federation and International Association of Athletics Federations and formerly abbreviated as the IAAF, is the international sports governing body, governing body for the sport ...

when they issued their inaugural list of records in 1912.

Military career

Duncan was a Lieutenant in the

, Expeditionary Forces during World War I. He was attached to the 11th Company of Engineers. He served in five offensive and one defensive sectors. After his discharge from the

, he stayed in France, married a French woman and opened a gymnasium in Paris. He was also the caretaker and manager of the American Military Cemetery at

Suresnes Suresnes () is a commune in the western inner suburbs of Paris, France. Located in Hauts-de-Seine, from the centre of Paris, it had a population of 49,482 as of 2020. Suresnes borders the Bois de Boulogne in the 16th arrondissement of Paris, ...

, near Paris and corresponded with many American mothers, informing them of his visits to their sons graves. In 1920, he was offered the position of trainer for the French Olympic athletes training for the

1920 Olympic Games The 1920 Summer Olympics (; ; ), officially known as the Games of the VII Olympiad (; ; ) and commonly known as Antwerp 1920 (; Dutch and German: ''Antwerpen 1920''), were an international multi-sport event held in 1920 in Antwerp, Belgium. In M ...

in Antwerp. In 1927, his 3-year-old daughter, Jacqueline Duncan won a beauty competition, being voted "the healthiest and most beautiful child of more than 30,000 who entered a competition organized by one of the leading Paris newspapers." Duncan was critically injured in 1932, when in an apparent suicide attempt, he shot himself three times, with two bullets lodging in his abdomen. He was in France. He died on January 21, 1955.

World record

Military career

References

Further reading