Mike Larrabee
{{Short description|American sprinter}}
{{Infobox sportsperson
| name = Mike Larrabee
| image = MikeLarrabee.jpg
| image_size =
| alt =
| caption =
| birth_date = {{birth date text|December 2, 1933}}
| birth_place = Hollywood, California, USA
| death_date = {{death-date and age|April 22, 2003|December 2, 1933}}
| death_place = Santa Maria, California, USA
| height = 186 cm
| weight = 77 kg
| sport = Athletics
| event = 400m
| club = Southern California Striders
| medaltemplates =
{{MedalSport|Men's athletics}}
{{MedalCountry | the {{USA}} }}
{{MedalCompetition | Olympic Games }}
{{MedalGold |1964 Tokyo|400 metres}}
{{MedalGold |1964 Tokyo|4 × 400 m relay}}
| show-medals =
| updated =
}}
Michael Denny Larrabee (December 2, 1933 – April 22, 2003) was an American athlete, winner of two gold medals at the 1964 Summer Olympics.[https://web.archive.org/web/20200417171652/https://www.sports-reference.com/olympics/athletes/la/mike-larrabee-1.html Mike Larrabee at Sports Reference] Sports Reference
Biography
Born in Hollywood, California and raised in Ventura, Larrabee was a young running talent in the mid-1950s. In 1952, his athletic performances earned him a scholarship at the University of Southern California, from which he graduated as a geology major. A series of injuries hampered his running career, causing him to miss out on the 1956 and 1960 Olympics, but he had his best season in 1964.
He won his only AAU title in 400 m, then he won the 400 m (tying the world record of 44.9 seconds) at the 1964 Olympic Trials in Los Angeles. In the Tokyo Olympics final, Larrabee was in fifth place going into the final turn, then passed everyone in front of him with a burst of speed to win the gold medal in 45.1. Larrabee also ran the second leg on United States gold medal winning 4 × 400 m relay team that won in the world record time of 3:00.7.
Larrabee won the British AAA Championships title in the 440 yards event at the 1965 AAA Championships.{{cite news |url=https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0000560/19650710/194/0023 |title=White City results |work=Daily Mirror |date=10 July 1965 |via=British Newspaper Archive|url-access=subscription |access-date=8 May 2025}}{{cite news |url=https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0002137/19650711/142/0034 |title=White City Details |work=Sunday Mirror |date=11 July 1965 |via=British Newspaper Archive|url-access=subscription |access-date=8 May 2025}}{{cite web|url=https://www.nuts.org.uk/Champs/AAA/index.htm |title=AAA, WAAA and National Championships Medallists |website=National Union of Track Statisticians |access-date=8 May 2025}}{{cite web|url=http://www.gbrathletics.com/bc/aaa.htm |title=AAA Championships (men) |website=GBR Athletics |access-date=8 May 2025}}
After the athletics, Larrabee worked as a mathematics teacher at James Monroe High School, ran a beverage distributing company with his brother and worked part-time as Adidas’ U.S. shoe representative to track and field, a position that allowed him to travel and keep connected to the sport.
Larrabee remained physically active well after his running career had wound down, taking up tennis, scuba diving, skiing, hiking (for which he raised llamas as pack animals) and mountain climbing.
Although he was diagnosed with advanced pancreatic cancer in 2001 and was only expected to live a few weeks, he continued to live life to the fullest for two more years, thanks to chemotherapy treatments. Mike Larrabee died in his home at Santa Maria, California, aged 69. He was posthumously added to the National Track and Field Hall of Fame in December 2003.http://www.usatf.org/HallOfFame/TF/ USATF National Hall of Fame
The stadium at Ventura High School, which he attended, is named for him.
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
- {{World Athletics}}
- [http://www.iaaf.org/news/Kind=2/newsId=21040.html Obituary at IAAF.org] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120716183951/http://www.iaaf.org/news/Kind=2/newsId=21040.html |date=2012-07-16 }}
- {{USATF}}
- {{Olympics.com profile|mike-larrabee|org_archive=20201108142119}}
- {{Olympedia}}
- {{YouTube|Qp37qrwvPl4|National Track and Field Hall of Fame video on Mike Larrabee}}
- {{YouTube|lQJZuNFNHA4|British Pathe footage of an indoor meet including Mike Larrabee}}
{{Footer Olympic Champions 400 m Men}}
{{Footer Olympic Champions 4x400 m Men|1964}}
{{Footer US NC 400m Men}}
{{Footer USA Track & Field 1964 Summer Olympics}}
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Larrabee, Mike}}
Category:Deaths from pancreatic cancer in California
Category:Sportspeople from Greater Los Angeles
Category:Sportspeople from Ventura, California
Category:American male sprinters
Category:World record setters in athletics (track and field)
Category:Athletes (track and field) at the 1964 Summer Olympics
Category:Olympic gold medalists for the United States in track and field
Category:USC Trojans men's track and field athletes
Category:Deaths from cancer in California
Category:Sportspeople from Santa Maria, California
Category:Track and field athletes from California
Category:Medalists at the 1964 Summer Olympics
Category:Ventura High School alumni