Harrison Smith Glancy (September 17, 1904 – September 22, 2002) was an American competitionswimmer forMercersburg Academy who won a gold medal in the 4x200 freestyle relay representing the United States at the1924 Summer Olympics in Paris, France. Glancy also represented the U.S. team in the1928 Summer Olympics in Amsterdam, Netherlands.[1]
Though born in Bens Run, Virginia on September 17, 1904, Glancy grew up in Kentucky. When he was 14, his family moved to Pittsburgh in 1919, and he got a job in a local health club where he began swimming. He attended and swam for Pittsburgh's prestigiousMercersburg Academy during his peak swimming years. On January 26, 1924, Glancy helped lead Mercersburg to the National Interscholastic Swimming Championship in Philadelphia. The team had won the title in previous years.[2][3][4] On August 11, 1923, he won the 220-yard Senior National AAU freestyle at Ideal Park in Johnstown, Pennsylvania, leading the field throughout the race, but touching only a few inches ahead ofHarold Kruger in an exciting finish.[5] In August 1925, he placed second toJohnny Weissmuller at Seattle's Senior Men's outdoor swimming championships in the 440-yard freestyle.[6]
After the Paris Olympics, Glancy transferred to the Cincinnati YMCA, and began to complete exclusively for the club.[9] He was engaged to Cincinnati area swimmer Irma May Lucas of Covington, Kentucky, around August, 1926. Irma Mae Glancy became the first Western female athlete to compete in Japan, when she swam at the 1927 Pan Pacific Games.[10][11][12]
In international competition after the Olympics, Glancy captained the U.S. team at the 1927 Pan Pacific Games that captured a gold medal.[4]
Glancy also qualified and participated in the 1928 Olympics. The American team again took the gold medal in the 4x200 freestyle relay, but without Harry's participation.[3]
In service to the swimming community, Glancy was on the Olympic Swimming Committee, helped organize the Havalanta Games with Carlos de Cuba, and played water polo at the Penn Aquatic Club.[3]
After his years as a swimming competitor, he served as a swim judge at the 1952 Games in Helsinki, Finland, the 1956 Games in Melbourne, Australia, and the 1960 Games in Rome.[12][4]
Glancy moved to Sarasota after retiring from the Gulf Oil Company in 1969. He was the first person to carry the Olympic torch in Sarasota in 1996 before the Atlanta Games.[12]
He died at his home in New Orleans of heart failure on September 22, 2002, at the age of 98. Survived by two sons and five grandchildren, he was predeceased by his wife Irma in 1997. After a memorial service, he was buried at St. Thomas More Church Garden in Sarasota, Florida.[12][13]
