Mary Decker

Mary Decker
Decker in 1982
Personal information
Birth nameMary Teresa Decker
Born (1958-08-04) August 4, 1958 (age 66)
Bunnvale, New Jersey, U.S.[1]
Height168 cm (5 ft 6 in)[1]
Weight51 kg (112 lb)
Sport
SportMiddle distance running
Event800–5000 m
ClubAthletics West, Eugene[1]
Retired1999
Achievements and titles
Personal best(s)800 m: 1:56.90 (1985)
1500 m: 3:57.12 (1983)
Mile: 4:16.71 (1985)
3000 m: 8:25.83 (1985)
5000 m: 15:06.53 (1985)
10,000 m: 31:35.3 (1982)[2]
Medal record
Representing  United States
World Championships
Gold medal – first place 1983 Helsinki 1500 m
Gold medal – first place 1983 Helsinki 3000 m
Pan American Games
Gold medal – first place 1979 San Juan 1500 m

Mary Teresa Slaney (formerly Tabb, née Decker, born August 4, 1958) is an American retired middle-distance and long-distance runner. During her career, she won gold medals in the 1500 meters and 3000 meters at the 1983 World Championships and was the world-record holder in the mile, 5000 meters and 10,000 meters. In total, she set 17 official and unofficial world records, and she was the first woman to break 4:20 for the mile. She also set 36 U.S. national records at distances ranging from 800 meters to 10,000 meters, and has held the U.S. record in the 2000 meters and 3000 meters since the early 1980s, while her 1500 meters record stood for 32 years and her mile record stood for 38 years. In 2003, she was inducted into the National Track and Field Hall of Fame.[3]

  1. ^ a b c Evans, Hilary; Gjerde, Arild; Heijmans, Jeroen; Mallon, Bill; et al. "Mary Decker-Slaney". Olympics at Sports-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on April 18, 2020.
  2. ^ Mary Slaney at World Athletics Edit this at Wikidata
  3. ^ Mary Slaney (Decker) at USA Track & Field Hall of Fame