James George LAUF

From Baltimore, Jimmy Lauf rode the team pursuit on the track at the 1952 Helsinki Olympics. Lauf was in the US Coast Guard at the time. After winning the 1949 US Championship road race, Lauf was offered bicycles by manufacturer Schwinn but had to say no to preserve his amateur status. He learned, however, of a system by which US amateur cyclists kept prize money in Canadian bank accounts. Cycling officials warned him he could not spend that money in the US, so Lauf withdrew it and raced in Europe where he was given contracts to ride in Belgium, as the US Champion. He remained eligible to compete at the 1952 Olympics. Lauf also finished third in the US Championships in 1947.