James Price McLane Jr. (September 13, 1930 – December 13, 2020) was an American competition swimmer, three-time Olympic champion, and a world record-holder.

Biography

Representing the United States at the 1948 Summer Olympics in London, EnglandSports-Reference.com, Olympic Sports, Athletes
McLane
. Retrieved March 6, 2015. as a 17-year-old, McLane won a gold medal in the men's 1500-meter freestyle, with a time of 19:18.5, finishing almost 13 seconds ahead of Australian

John Marshall John Marshall (September 24, 1755July 6, 1835) was an American politician and lawyer who served as the fourth Chief Justice of the United States from 1801 until his death in 1835. He remains the longest-serving chief justice and fourth-longes ...

(19:31.3). He also earned a silver medal for his second-place finish in the men's 400-meter freestyle (4:43.4), finishing behind fellow American Bill Smith (4:41.0). He won another gold medal, along with teammates

Wally Ris Walter Steven Ris (January 4, 1924 – December 25, 1989) was an American competition swimmer, two-time Olympic champion, and world record-holder. Ris won two gold medals at the 1948 Summer Olympics in London, England.Sports-Reference.com, Olym ...

Wally Wolf Wallace "Wally" Perry Wolf Jr. (October 2, 1930 – March 12, 1997) was an American competition swimmer, water polo player, and Olympic champion. He competed in the 1948, 1952, 1956, and 1960 Summer Olympics. Personal Wolf was born in Los A ...

, and Bill Smith, as a member of the U.S.'s 4 × 200-meter freestyle relay, which set a new world record of 8:46.0 in the event final. At the 1948 U.S. Olympic trials for the 4x200-meter freestyle relay, several swimmers who had already qualified for the Olympics in other events slowed down in their heats or swam fast in the prelims and scratched themselves for the final to allow more swimmers to qualify for the U.S. Olympic Team. McLane was one of the two swimmers who swam and scratched themselves from the trials final after having the fastest time in the prelims. Ultimately, coach

Robert Kiphuth Robert John Herman Kiphuth (November 17, 1890 – January 7, 1967) was an American swimming coach and college athletics administrator. He served as the head men's swimming coach at Yale University for 41 years, from 1918 to 1959. During his tenure ...

held a time trial shortly after the actual trials with eleven of the swimmers. This time trial had McLane as first overall with a time of 2:11.0, Bill Smith and

in 2:11.2, and

in 2:12.4. The next four-

Eugene Rogers Eugene Roy Rogers (February 17, 1924 – December 30, 2017) was an American competition swimmer who represented the United States at the 1948 Summer Olympics in London.Sports-Reference.com, Olympic Sports, Athletes Eugene Rogers Retrieved Janua ...

in 2:14.2, Edwin Gilbert in 2:15.4, Robert Gibe in 2:15.6, and William Dudley in 2:15.9, were used in the Olympic prelims. Four years later at the 1952 Summer Olympics in Helsinki, Finland, McLane won another gold medal by swimming the anchor leg for the U.S. team in the 4 × 200-meter freestyle relay, together with relay teammates Wayne Moore, Bill Woolsey, and

Ford Konno Ford Hiroshi Konno (born January 1, 1933) is a Japanese–American former competition swimmer, two-time Olympic champion, and former world record-holder in three events. Konno was born in Honolulu, Hawaii. He attended McKinley High School in Ho ...

. The Americans set a new Olympic record of 8:31.1 in the final. In individual competition, he finished fourth in the men's 1,500-meter freestyle (18:51.5), and seventh in the men's 400-meter freestyle (4:40.3). McLane was born in

Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Allegheny County. It is the most populous city in both Allegheny County and Western Pennsylvania, the second-most populous city in Pennsyl ...

. At the age of 13, he won the four-mile swim at the national AAU outdoor long-distance championships. As a student at

Phillips Academy ("Not for Self") la, Finis Origine Pendet ("The End Depends Upon the Beginning") Youth From Every Quarter Knowledge and Goodness , address = 180 Main Street , city = Andover , state = M ...

in Andover, MA, he set national high school records in the 200-yard freestyle, 220-yard freestyle, and 440-yard freestyle. He attended

Yale University Yale University is a Private university, private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the List of Colonial Colleges, third-oldest institution of higher education in the United Sta ...

, where he helped the

Yale Bulldogs swimming and diving Since its inception in 1898, the Yale Bulldogs swimming and diving program has produced numerous champion athletes. Many Yale swimmers have gone on to earn All-American honors and even break world records. The team has won 4 NCAA championships, 3 ...

team win two

National Collegiate Athletic Association The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates student athlete, student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. It also organizes the athletic sports, ...

(NCAA) Championships. He graduated from Yale in 1953. He retired from swimming after winning three gold medals at the 1955 Pan American Games. In 1970, he was inducted into the

International Swimming Hall of Fame The International Swimming Hall of Fame and Museum (ISHOF) is a history museum and hall of fame, located at One Hall of Fame Drive, Fort Lauderdale, Florida, United States, operated by private interests and serving as the central point for the st ...

. McLane died at his home in

Ipswich, Massachusetts Ipswich is a coastal town in Essex County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 13,785 at the 2020 census. Home to Willowdale State Forest and Sandy Point State Reservation, Ipswich includes the southern part of Plum Island. A resid ...

, on December 13, 2020, at the age of 90. He had lived in Ipswich for the past 13 years.

References

External links

* *Fox, David,
Boy Wonder' Jim McLane, Olympic Gold Medalist, Dies at 90
{{DEFAULTSORT:McLane, Jimmy 1930 births 2020 deaths American male freestyle swimmers World record setters in swimming Olympic gold medalists for the United States in swimming Olympic silver medalists for the United States in swimming Sportspeople from Pittsburgh Phillips Academy alumni Swimmers at the 1948 Summer Olympics Swimmers at the 1952 Summer Olympics Swimmers at the 1955 Pan American Games Yale Bulldogs men's swimmers Medalists at the 1952 Summer Olympics Medalists at the 1948 Summer Olympics Pan American Games gold medalists for the United States Pan American Games medalists in swimming Medalists at the 1955 Pan American Games

Biography

See also

References

External links