James Emanuel Fuchs (pronounced /ˈfjuːʃ/; December 6, 1927 – October 8, 2010) was an American communications executive and athlete who competed in the discus throw and shot put.

[3] He developed a new shot-putting technique to compensate for a leg injury, and then used what he called "the sideways glide" to set world records and dominate the sport over a two-year span in the early 1950s.

[4] Fuchs' training regimen did not involve lifting weights; in a 1994 interview he suggested that had he done so he would easily have broken 60 feet, shot putting's equivalent of the four-minute mile.

[8] Fuchs represented the United States at the 1948 Summer Olympics held in London, Great Britain, where he won the bronze medal in the men's shot put event, despite suffering from strep throat and a 104-degree temperature while competing.

[4] Competing in two events in athletics at the 1951 Pan American Games held in Buenos Aires, Fuchs won gold medals in both the discus and shot put.

Gold medalist Parry O'Brien later surpassed Fuchs's records with a more radical innovation which featured a 180-degree turn called the "backwards glide"; he broke the 60-foot mark in 1953.