Jim Knaub | |
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Born | approx. 1956 (age 67–68) |
Known for | Wheelchair racing |
Jim Knaub (b. ca 1956[1]) is a former professional wheelchair marathon athlete.
He was a pole vault competitor at Long Beach State and a semifinalist for the 1976 Olympics before a 1978 traffic accident left him paralyzed.[1] He went through rehabilitation at Rancho Los Amigos National Rehabilitation Center, but did not regain the use of his legs.[2] After setting a wheelchair marathon world record at the 1982 Boston Marathon,[3] he went on to win four more times for a total of four world records,[4][5] and, along with female champion Candace Cable, "gave the 'wheelies' a personality in the 1980s and early 1990s".[6] In the 1990s he held "the world record in every race distance from 5,000 meters to the marathon."[7]
Knaub joined Cannondale Bicycle Corporation in 1998 as production manager for the company's competition wheelchairs.[8]
A movie about Knaub's life, titled Hell on Wheels is reported to be in development by Walt Disney Pictures.[9]
Jim Knaub has appeared as an actor in television (The A Team, The Fall Guy, The Love Boat S6 E7 as Arthur (1982), and others) and movies.