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
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:
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
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
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.
^Tom Caroccioli; Jerry Caroccioli (May 2008). Boycott: Stolen Dreams of the 1980 Moscow Olympic Games. Highland Park, IL: New Chapter Press. pp. 243–253.
ISBN978-0942257403.
^"Harvey Glance". rolltide.com. Archived from
the original on January 15, 2010. Retrieved March 2, 2012. University of Alabama Crimson Tide – Harvey Glance.
^"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