Jim Knaub

James William Knaub (January 5, 1956 – November 17, 2024) was an American professional wheelchair marathon athlete.

Background Knaub was born in Corona, California on January 5, 1956. He died in Long Beach, California on November 17, 2024, at the age of 68.

Sport Knaub was a pole vault competitor at Long Beach State and a semifinalist for the 1976 Olympics before a 1978 traffic accident left him paralyzed. After setting a wheelchair marathon world record at the 1982 Boston Marathon, he went on to win four more times for a total of four world records, and, along with female champion Candace Cable, "gave the 'wheelies' a personality in the 1980s and early 1990s". In the 1990s he held "the world record in every race distance from 5,000 meters to the marathon."

Other ventures Knaub joined Cannondale Bicycle Corporation in 1998 as production manager for the company's competition wheelchairs.

Jim Knaub appeared as an actor in television (The A Team, The Fall Guy, The Love Boat S6 E7 as Arthur (1982), and others) and movies.

In 2013, it was reported that a film about Knaub's life, titled Hell on Wheels, was in development by Walt Disney Pictures.

Accolades Lakewood, California Youth Hall of Fame, 1981 Long Beach State Hall of Fame, 1990