James Edmonds

James Edmonds attended Syracuse University, where he studied mechanical engineering, but in 1964 he was rowing for the Potomac Boat Club. He rowed the coxless pairs at Tokyo with Tony Johnson. Edmonds won a gold medal at the 1959 Pan American Games in the coxed eight.

After college Edmonds studied applied mathematics at the University of Michigan, earning a master’s degree in 1961. He worked as a computer programmer at the time of the 1964 Olympics, working for IBM for over 30 years, and consulting with both the Pentagon and the CIA.

Edmonds later became a long-time member of the Potomac Appalachian Trail Club, where he volunteered much of his time maintaining trails and equipment. He was known for hiking in the Shenandoah and Adirondack Mountains, with his children, his family, and his friends.