James LuValle

Olympic medal record
Men’s athletics
Representing the  United States
	1936 Berlin	400 metres

Dr. James LuValle (James Ellis "Jimmy" LuValle; November 10, 1912 – January 30, 1993) was an American athlete and scientist.

LuValle won the bronze medal in the 400 metres in the 1936 Summer Olympics held in Berlin.

He was also an accomplished chemist, and the founder of the Graduate Students Association at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA).

LuValle was African-American. He was born on November 10, 1912 in San Antonio, TX. His family lived for a while in Washington, D.C., before moving to Los Angeles, CA while LuValle was in elementary school. He competed in track and field at LA Polytechnic High School (later renamed John H. Francis Polytechnic High School), while working as a page for the Los Angeles Public Library.

He enrolled at UCLA in 1931, turning down athletic scholarships to the University of Southern California (USC) and the University of Notre Dame. Nicknamed the "Westwood Whirlwind," he was the captain of the track and field team. In 1934 he ran 20.8 seconds for 220y, with Bob Kiesel and Foy Draper being the only sprinters in the world to match LuValle's time that year.

Despite his athletic prowess, he admitted his main focus was always academics. He did not have an athletic scholarship, given UCLA did not award track scholarships back then. He paid his way through school with a Regents' scholarship and a job in the chemistry lab. He made friends with future Nobel Laureate Glenn T. Seaborg who was his teaching assistant for one class. He graduated Phi Beta Kappa in chemistry in June 1936, having had a straight-A average. He also won the Jake Gimball Award for most outstanding all-around senior.

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