Jim Knaub

Jim Knaub (b. ca 1956) is a world-class wheelchair marathon athlete.

Sport

He was a pole vault competitor at Long Beach State and a semifinalist for the 1976 Olympics before a 1978 traffic accident left him paralyzed. He went through rehabilitation at Rancho Los Amigos National Rehabilitation Center, but did not regain the use of his legs. 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."

Actor

Knaub has acted in several television series in the 1980s. His television credits include M*A*S*H (1981), Code Red (1981), The Love Boat (1982), The A-Team (1983), The Fall Guy (1983), and Airwolf (1986).

In 1983, he also appeared in Blake Edwards' feature movie The Man Who Loved Women, starring Burt Reynolds, Julie Andrews, and Kim Basinger.

Biographical movie

In 2011, Walt Disney Pictures announced they will produce a movie based on Knaub's life. Titled Hell on Wheels, the film will be produced by Rachel Pfeffer (A Civil Action fame) with screenwriting by Joel Silverman.

Business

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

Accolades

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