James Grant enters Penn Relays Wall of Fame

April 24, 2014

IOWA CITY, Iowa — Former University of Iowa head women’s track and field coach James Grant is being inducted into the Penn Relays Wall of Fame this weekend in Philadelphia.

Grant was a member of a 440-yard relay that in 1964 became the first team from Jamaica to reach the finals of the Penn Relays. He and Kingston College High School teammates Rupert Hoilette, Ken Keyes and Lennox Miller completed the race in 42.7, and fifty years later they will be recognized when the 120th running of the Penn Relays begins Thursday at 10 a.m. (CT).

More than 60 countries and 22,000 athletes participate in the three-day event.

Grant was on the Iowa coaching staff for 23 seasons, including 12 years as head coach, before he passed away in 2007 following a two-year battle with cancer. He coached one NCAA champion, 15 All-Americans and 26 Big Ten champions from 1986-2007.