{{Short description|American wheelchair athlete (1956–2024)}} {{infobox person | name=Jim Knaub | image= | image_size = 200px | caption=Jim Knaub winning Boston Marathon in 1982 | known_for = Wheelchair racing | birth_date = {{birth date|1956|1|5}} | birth_place = Corona, California, U.S. | death_date = {{death date and age|2024|11|17|1956|1|5}} | death_place = Long Beach, California, U.S. }}
'''James William Knaub''' (January 5, 1956 – November 17, 2024) was an American professional wheelchair marathon athlete.
==Background== Knaub was born in Corona, California on January 5, 1956.<ref name=people>{{citation|author=Deirdre Donahue|journal=People|date=June 25, 1984|title=Weelchair Racers Jim Knaub and Candace Cable Are on a Roll as They Push Toward Their Olympic Debut|url=http://www.people.com/people/archive/article/0,,20088149,00.html}}</ref> He died in Long Beach, California on November 17, 2024, at the age of 68.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.luybendilday.com/obituary/james-knaub|title=james-knaub obituary|accessdate=November 24, 2024}}</ref>
==Sport== Knaub was a pole vault competitor at Long Beach State and a semifinalist for the 1976 Olympics before a 1978 traffic accident left him paralyzed.<ref name=people/> He went through rehabilitation at Rancho Los Amigos National Rehabilitation Center, but did not regain the use of his legs.<ref>{{citation|url=http://www.rancho.org/Rancho_PatientStories.aspx#Jim%20Knaub|title=Patient stories: Jim Knaub - Rancho Los Amigos inspires the will to win|date=January 1, 2011|publisher=Rancho Los Amigos National Rehabilitation Center|accessdate=2012-12-06|archive-date=2013-03-06|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130306033605/http://www.rancho.org/Rancho_PatientStories.aspx#Jim%20Knaub|url-status=dead}}</ref> After setting a wheelchair marathon world record at the 1982 Boston Marathon,<ref>{{citation |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=jxWweoxJrxMC&pg=PA71 |title=Legendary Motorcycles |page= 71 |first1=Basem |last1=Wasef |first2=Jay |last2= Leno |author2-link=Jay Leno |publisher=Motorbooks International |year=2007|isbn=978-0-7603-3070-8 |quote=His creation turned out to be an esthetic and functional success that enabled Jim Knaub to win the Boston Marathon in 1982}}</ref> he went on to win four more times for a total of four world records,<ref>{{citation|url=https://archive.seattletimes.com/archive/19930910/1720269/knaub-races-to-end-injustice|date=September 10, 1993|author=Steve Kelley|title=Knaub Races To End Injustice|newspaper=The Seattle Times}}</ref><ref>{{citation|newspaper=The Los Angeles Times|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1991-04-16-sp-77-story.html|title=Knaub Wins in Record Time|date=April 16, 1991}}</ref> and, along with female champion Candace Cable, "gave the 'wheelies' a personality in the 1980s and early 1990s".<ref>{{citation|work=2012 Boston Marathon media guide |title=Push Rim Wheelchair Division History |publisher=Boston Athletic Association and John Hancock Financial Services |year=2012 |url=http://www.johnhancock.com/bostonmarathon/mediaguide/prwdivisionhistory.php |accessdate=2012-12-06 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20130129152938/http://www.johnhancock.com/bostonmarathon/mediaguide/prwdivisionhistory.php |archivedate=2013-01-29 }}</ref> In the 1990s he held "the world record in every race distance from 5,000 meters to the marathon."<ref>{{citation|newspaper=The Seattle Times|date=September 23, 1994|title=Rolling Past Limitations -- Meeting Jim Knaub Five Years Ago Helped Amberly Austin Find The Drive To Overcome Her Limits. Now 13, She's A Top Junior Wheelchair Racer.|author=Bob Sherwin|url=https://archive.seattletimes.com/archive/19940923/1932166/rolling-past-limitations----meeting-jim-knaub-five-years-ago-helped-amberly-austin-find-the-drive-to-overcome-her-limits-now-13-shes-a-top-junior-wheelchair-racer|access-date=2012-12-06}}</ref>
==Other ventures== Knaub joined Cannondale Bicycle Corporation in 1998 as production manager for the company's competition wheelchairs.<ref>{{citation|newspaper=The Los Angeles Times|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1998-apr-29-fi-44084-story.html|date=April 29, 1998|title=New Entry in Wheelchair Business Is on a Roll|author=Claudia Coates}}</ref>
Jim Knaub appeared as an actor in television (''The A Team'', ''The Fall Guy'', ''The Love Boat'' S6 E7 as Arthur (1982), and others) and movies.
In 2013, it was reported that a film about Knaub's life, titled ''Hell on Wheels'', was in development by Walt Disney Pictures.<ref>{{citation|title=HELL ON WHEELS (Walt Disney Pictures)|url=https://movies.nytimes.com/movie/427292/HELL-ON-WHEELS-Walt-Disney-Pictures-/overview|archive-url=https://archive.today/20130131014049/http://movies.nytimes.com/movie/427292/HELL-ON-WHEELS-Walt-Disney-Pictures-/overview|url-status=dead|archive-date=2013-01-31|year=2010|department=Movies & TV Dept.|work=The New York Times|accessdate=2012-12-06}}</ref>
==Accolades== *Lakewood, California Youth Hall of Fame, 1981<ref>{{citation|title=Lakewood Youth Hall of Fame|url=http://www.lakewoodcity.org/more/emagazine_archive/hall_of_fame_pt.asp|publisher=City of Lakewood, California|accessdate=2012-12-06}}{{Dead link|date=February 2026 |bot=InternetArchiveBot }}</ref> *Long Beach State Hall of Fame, 1990<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.longbeachstate.com/trads/hof/knaub-jim.html|publisher=Long Beach State Athletics official website|title=Hall of Fame|accessdate=2012-12-06|archive-date=2015-09-13|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150913071234/http://www.longbeachstate.com/trads/hof/knaub-jim.html|url-status=dead}}</ref>
==See also== *List of winners of the Boston Marathon#Men's wheelchair division *{{section link|Los Angeles Marathon|Top finishers}}
==References== {{reflist}}
==External links== * {{IMDb name|0460555}} * {{TV Guide person|3030678260}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Knaub, Jim}} Category:1956 births Category:2024 deaths Category:Boston Marathon men winners Category:Long Beach State Beach men's track and field athletes Category:Sportspeople from Lakewood, California Category:People with paraplegia