View source for Jim Spivey

{{short description|American middle-distance runner}}
{{Infobox sportsperson
|name = Jim Spivey
|image = 
|imagesize =
|caption = 
| sport = [[Track and field#Running|Track]]
| event = [[1500 meters]], [[3000 meters]], [[5000 metres|5000 meters]]
| nationality = [[Americans|American]]
|alias =
|club =
|birth_date = {{Birth date and age|1960|3|7}}
|birth_place = [[Schiller Park, Illinois]]
|collegeteam = [[Indiana University|Indiana]]
|height = 5 ft 10 in<ref>{{cite Sports-Reference |url=https://www.sports-reference.com/olympics/athletes/sp/jim-spivey-1.html |title=Jim Spivey |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200418033637/https://www.sports-reference.com/olympics/athletes/sp/jim-spivey-1.html |archive-date=2020-04-18}}</ref>
|weight = 134 lbs
|turnedpro =
|retired =
|pb = '''[[800 meters]]''': 1:46.5<ref name="All-Athletics">{{cite web|url=http://www.all-athletics.com/node/98393|author=All-Athletics|title=Profile of Jim Spivey}}</ref> <br> '''[[1500 meters]]''': 3:31.01<ref name="All-Athletics"/> <br> '''[[Mile run|Mile]]''': 3:49.80<ref name="All-Athletics"/> <br> '''[[Two miles|2-mile]]''': 8:24.14<ref name="All-Athletics"/> <br> '''[[5000 meters]]''': 13:15.86<ref name="All-Athletics"/> 
|olympics =
|worlds =
|highestranking =
|coaching =
|updated =
|medaltemplates =
{{MedalSport | Men's [[Athletics (sport)|Athletics]]}}
{{MedalCountry | {{USA}} }}
{{MedalCompetition|[[IAAF World Championships in Athletics|World Championships]]}}
{{MedalBronze|[[1987 World Championships in Athletics|1987 Rome]]|1500 m}}
{{MedalCompetition|[[Pan American Games]]}}
{{MedalSilver| [[Athletics at the 1987 Pan American Games|1987 Indianapolis]] |1500 m}}
}}
'''James Calvin Spivey''' (born March 7, 1960, in [[Schiller Park, Illinois|Schiller Park]], [[Illinois]]) is a former [[United States|American]] [[middle distance track event|middle-distance]] runner and Olympian. Spivey took up competitive running in Illinois where he became one of the best high school runners from his state. He was the 1982 NCAA DI men's 1500-meter champion with Indiana University. Spivey enjoyed a long Olympic career, in which he participated in the Olympic Summer Games in [[1984 Summer Olympics|1984]], [[1992 Summer Olympics|1992]], and [[1996 Summer Olympics|1996]].

==Running career==

===High school===
Spivey began running competitively in 1975 as a sophomore in cross country and on the track at [[Fenton High School (Illinois)|Fenton High School]] in [[Bensenville, Illinois]]. He was runner-up at state cross country his junior and senior year, running 14:00 for three miles at the Illinois State course in Peoria, Illinois. In Track and Field he was a state qualifier in the two-mile his sophomore year, was runner-up in the two-mile his junior year in 9:00.5, and state champion in the half mile his senior year. His times of 1:50.2 880 yards was the #1 ranked high school time in the country; and mile of 4:06.2 was the 2nd fastest high schooler for 1978.

===Collegiate===
Spivey attended Indiana University from 1978 to 1983. In 1982 he was the NCAA champion in the men's 1500 meters. During his college career, Spivey's training fluctuated seasonally to adjust to cross country in the fall and track in the winter and spring; his weekly mileage ranged from under 40 to over 80 miles depending on his race schedule.<ref>[http://www.jimspivey.com/topworkouts.html] Top Workouts from the Jim Spivey Training Journal</ref>

===International===
In 1984, he also won the Olympic Trials and placed 5th in the [[1984 Summer Olympics|Los Angeles Olympic Games]]. His time of 3:36.06 was the fastest run by an American in the Olympic final until the 2012 London Olympic Games in which Leo Manzano ran 3:34.90 to claim 2nd place.

His greatest success came at the World Championships in [[1987 World Championships in Athletics|Rome 1987]] over [[1500 m]] where he won a bronze medal. He also won the Silver Medal at the [[Athletics at the 1987 Pan American Games|1987 Pan American Games]] in [[Indianapolis, Indiana]]. The following year, however, Spivey failed to qualify for the [[1988 Summer Olympics]] (finishing fourth at the US trials in Indianapolis) in the same season in which he set his personal best over 1500 m (3:31.01, Koblenz).

In 1992 Spivey won the [[United States Olympic Trials (track and field)|US Olympic trials]] 1500 meters in New Orleans ahead of Steve Holman to qualify for the [[1992 Summer Olympics|Olympic Games]] in Barcelona, where he came eighth.

In 1996 Spivey competed in the Olympic 5000m competition in Atlanta, where he was a semi-finalist with a 14:27.72. He also currently holds the American record for the 2,000 m at 4:52.44 set in Lausanne, Switzerland in 1987. His personal bests include 1:46.5 800 m 1982 San Francisco; 2:16.05 1000 meters 1984 Eugene, Oregon; 3:49.80 mile 1986 Oslo, Norway; 7:37.07 3000 m 1993 Cologne, West Germany and 13:15.86 5000 meters 1994 Berlin, Germany at age 34. He was a member of the 1983 Helsinki, Finland; 1987 Rome; 1991 Tokyo; 1993 Stuttgart, Germany and 1995 Gothenburg, Sweden USA World Championship teams.

==Coaching==
Spivey was the head coach of men and women cross-country and track and field at the [[University of Chicago]] from 1997 to 2001, and had 13 all-Americans of the athletic department's 24 during that time. One individual won four [[NCAA Division III]] titles in 1999-2000. From 2001 to 2005, he was the head women's cross-country coach/assistant track and field coach at [[Vanderbilt University]], including being able to coach to SEC champions and one all-American in the 5000 meter run.

As a college coach, Spivey used a series of quotes to motivate his athletes. He would say, "Sit in the chair" to explain the importance of trusting the coach. "No deposit, no return" signified that desirable results in the championship end of the season would only come with hard work early on in the season. "The hay is in the barn" was used during the championship end of the season to remind the athletes that they'd already done all the work they could do and now was time to reap the benefits. The phrases "Reach out and slap a hand," "People in the [[Sears Tower]] would pay to run with you guys" and "It's great to be alive" were all used to motivate athletes during hard workouts. Additionally, he often used the call and response, "Hip hip?" "Hooray!" during particularly grueling workouts. His running idol was [[Sebastian Coe]].

He currently lives in [[Wheaton, Illinois]], and works for [[ASICS]] America corporation since 2006.  He moved over from Team Sales to Sports Marketing in May 2018, working with college and other sponsored programs throughout the United States.  He started the Jim Spivey Running Club in 1990, and enjoys coaching a group in Wheaton [http://www.jimspivey.com/coaching/jsrcrunningclub.html Jim Spivey Running Club]. He helped coach Wheaton Academy high school in West Chicago for 4 years, the boys' and girls' cross country teams and assistant role in track.  He is presently a volunteer coach for the girls' cross country and track teams at [[Wheaton North]] in Wheaton, Il. Also, one of his form mid-1990 JSRC runners is the head coach at Latin High School in downtown Chicago.  Coach Dan Daly asked Jim to help him coach his boys' and girls' cross country and track teams, beginning in August 2017 - The partnership with Jim writing the training and Dan implementing the workouts, to have Dan's first ever Illinois State Champion in the 1600m run in May 2018, a freshman who ran 4:56.  He also coaches individuals and high school groups during the off-season, and gives motivational speeches and coaching clinics. Jim's signature is handing out half-sticks of gum to his runners after the workout.

==Personal bests==
* 800 m -- 1:46.5 (1982)
* 1000 m -- 2:16.54 (1984)
* 1500 m -- 3:31.01 (1988)
* Mile—3:49.80 (1986)
* 2000 m -- 4:52.44 (1987, American record)
* 3000 m -- 7:37.04 (1993)
* 5000 m -- 13:15.86 (1994)

Source: [https://web.archive.org/web/20070708210035/http://www.trackandfieldnews.com/lists/all_time/us_at_m.html TrackandFieldNews.com]

==References==
{{Reflist|30em}}

==External links==
*{{World Athletics}}

{{Footer US NC 1500m Men}}
{{Footer US NC Indoor Mile Men}}
{{Footer US NC Indoor 3000 meters Men}}
{{Big Ten Conference Athlete of the Year navbox}}
{{Footer USA Track & Field 1984 Summer Olympics}}
{{Footer USA Track & Field 1992 Summer Olympics}}
{{Footer USA Track & Field 1996 Summer Olympics}}
{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Spivey, Jim}}
[[Category:1960 births]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:American male middle-distance runners]]
[[Category:Athletes (track and field) at the 1984 Summer Olympics]]
[[Category:Athletes (track and field) at the 1992 Summer Olympics]]
[[Category:Athletes (track and field) at the 1996 Summer Olympics]]
[[Category:Athletes (track and field) at the 1987 Pan American Games]]
[[Category:Olympic track and field athletes for the United States]]
[[Category:Sportspeople from Wheaton, Illinois]]
[[Category:Track and field athletes from Illinois]]
[[Category:World Athletics Championships medalists]]
[[Category:Pan American Games silver medalists for the United States in athletics (track and field)]]
[[Category:People from Wood Dale, Illinois]]
[[Category:Sportspeople from DuPage County, Illinois]]
[[Category:Big Ten Athlete of the Year winners]]
[[Category:Medalists at the 1987 Pan American Games]]
[[Category:Indiana Hoosiers men's track and field athletes]]
[[Category:NCAA Division I Outdoor Track and Field Championships winners]]
[[Category:NCAA Division I Indoor Track and Field Championships winners]]
[[Category:20th-century American sportsmen]]