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Bob Larsen


Inducted: 2013, Coach

Born: January 23, 1939



During the 15 seasons Bob Larsen served as coach of the UCLA Bruins men’s track and field and cross country teams, he led 12 individuals to a total of 20 NCAA titles and won back-to-back NCAA Outdoor titles in 1987 and 1988. In a brilliant career that has spanned six decades, Larsen would coach 13 athletes to a total of 25 national championships. As UCLA’s head coach, he held a
118-3-1 record in dual meets and was selected PAC-10 Coach of
the Year nine times. He was selected the Team USA distance coach for the 2004 Olympic Games where he coached Meb Keflezighi to a silver medal in the marathon and later helped him to win the 2009 New York City Marathon. Three times in his career Larsen was selected NCAA track and field coach of the year (’87, ’88, ’95) and once in cross country (’80). Larsen is the subject of a documentary film to be released in the spring 2014 entitled, “City Slickers Can’t Stay with Me: The Bob Larsen Story.”
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