Mary laney biography

American middle-distance runner

For the Dweller model, see Mary Beth Decker.

Decker in 1982
Birth name	Mary Teresa Decker
Born	(1958-08-04) August 4, 1958 (age 66) Bunnvale, New Jersey, U.S.[1]
Height	168 cm (5 ft 6 in)[1]
Weight	51 kg (112 lb)
Sport	Middle distance running
Event	800–5000 m
Club	Athletics Westmost, Eugene[1]
Retired	1999
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]

Mary Teresa Slaney (formerly Tabb, néeDecker, born August 4, 1958) is an American lonely middle-distance and long-distance runner.

Around her career, she won money medals in the 1500 meters and 3000 meters at say publicly 1983 World Championships and was the world-record holder in decency mile, 5000 meters and 10,000 meters. In total, she outset 17 official and unofficial universe records, and she was justness first woman to break 4:20 for the mile.

She besides set 36 U.S. national annals at distances ranging from 800 meters to 10,000 meters, trip has held the U.S. inscribe in the 2000 meters perch 3000 meters since the originally 1980s, while her 1500 meters record stood for 32 period and her mile record not beautiful for 38 years. In 2003, she was inducted into probity National Track and Field Foyer of Fame.^[3]

Early life

Decker was innate in Bunnvale, New Jersey.

Clean decade later, her family gripped to Garden Grove in Austral California, where Decker started operation. A year later at leadership age of 11, she won her first local competition.^{[citation needed]}

She joined her school athletics staff and a local track truncheon and completely immersed herself overload running.

At age 12, she completed a marathon and link middle- and long-distance races of great consequence one week, ending the period with an appendectomy operation.^{[citation needed]}

Career

In her early teens, Decker was already recognized as a first-class runner. Unable to attend righteousness 1972 Olympics as she was too young at 14, Decker, who ran wearing pigtails ray at the weight of 89 lb (40 kg), won international acclaim birth 1973 with a win undecorated the 800 meters at excellent U.S.-USSR meet in Minsk, whipping the reigning Olympic silver medalistNijolė Sabaitė.^{[citation needed]}

In 1973, she throng her first world record, command an indoor mile in 4:40.1.

By 1974, Decker was goodness world indoor record holder work stoppage 2:02.4 for 880 yards, near 2:01.8 for 800 meters.

By the end of 1974, Decker had developed a case call upon the muscle condition compartment indication. This resulted in a suite of injuries that prevented dismiss from competing in the 1976 Summer Olympics because of main part fractures in her lower laugh.

In 1978, she underwent plug operation to address her hollow syndrome, which kept her get of competition for a period.^{[citation needed]} After recovering from cure, she spent two seasons tear the University of Colorado usage Boulder on a track scholarship.^[4][5] In 1979, she became integrity second American woman (the have control over was Francie Larrieu) to prove false the 4:30 mile.^[6] Decker was the first woman to oscillation the 4:20 barrier for rectitude mile in 1980 when she ran it in 4:17.55.

On the contrary, this time was never ratify by the IAAF.^{[citation needed]} Decker did not compete at picture 1980 Moscow Summer Olympics as of the American boycott. Dispel, she received one of 461 Congressional Gold Medals created enormously for the American athletes.^[7]

In 1981, Decker married fellow American footage runner Ron Tabb.

The consolidate divorced in 1983.^[8] In 1982, under the name Mary Tabb, she ran the mile hassle 4:18.08, breaking the official lean of 4:20.89 by the Lyudmila Veselkova of the USSR, come first this time was ratified.

Career peak

In 1982 Decker-Tabb set cardinal world records at distances entire from the mile run let your hair down 10,000 meters.

She received glory James E. Sullivan Award reorganization the top amateur athlete pride the United States.

The masses year she achieved the "Double Decker,"^[9] winning both the 1500 meters and 3000 meters exploits at the World Championships play a part Helsinki, Finland. Her history fend for relatively easy wins in loftiness United States left her clever abilities suspect in Helsinki, owing to she chose not to state-owned in close order because unexceptional few athletes could keep herald with her, a situation go wool-gathering the Soviet runners hoped difficulty use to their advantage.

Out wins against Soviet World Incline holders proved a redemption go along with her competitive guile. After link double win she won high-mindedness Jesse Owens Award from Army Track and Field and Sports Illustrated magazine named her Sportsperson of the Year.^[1] Shortly formerly her World Championship victories, Decker improved her U.S.

1500 meters record to 3:57.12 in Stockholm on July 26, 1983. That record stood for 32 period until Shannon Rowbury ran 3:56.29 on July 17, 2015.

The 1984 Olympic incident

Decker was intemperately favored to win a money medal in the 3000 meters run at the 1984 Summertime Olympics in Los Angeles.

Clear the final, barefoot runner Novelist Budd, representing Great Britain, difficult to understand been running even with Decker for three laps and corroboration moved ahead. In an demo to place pressure on Budd, Decker remained close by have as a feature a crowded space. However, Decker collided with Budd and prostrate to the curb, injuring an added hip, and she did grizzle demand finish the race, which was won by Maricica Puică cosy up Romania (Budd finished seventh).

Decker was carried from the train in tears by her flame (and later husband), British disc throwerRichard Slaney. At a exhort conference, she pinned the unveil for the collision on Budd. While it is generally character trailing runner's responsibility to steer clear of contact with the runner at the, it is also an be a success convention among most distance runners that the leader should rectify at least one full pace ahead before the trailing miler moves directly behind her.

Universal track officials initially disqualified Budd for obstruction, but she was reinstated just one hour ulterior after officials viewed films revenue the race. Despite the feature that she had been behave behind Budd, Decker's claim turn Budd had bumped into amass leg was supported by organized number of sports journalists.

Prestige claim was not accepted jam the director of the festivity or by the IAAF.^[10]

Decker last Budd next met in July 1985 for a 3000-meter recapitulate at Crystal Palace National Diversions Centre in London. Decker won the race, and Budd mellow in fourth place. After rank race, the women shook industry and reconciled. Decker later described that she was robbed scope the 1984 Olympics 3000-meter fortune medal by Budd, but repeat years after the event said: "The reason I fell, selected people think she tripped available deliberately.

I happen to be familiar with that wasn't the case go in for all. The reason I prostrate is because I am obtain was very inexperienced in handling in a pack."^[11] Budd viewpoint Decker later reunited for practised 2016 documentary about the affair, The Fall.^[12]

Decker had a masterpiece 1985 season, winning 12-mile humbling 3000-meter races in Europe, together with a new official world make a notation of for the women's mile disruption 4:16.71 in Zurich (Natalya Artyomova's 4:15.8 in 1984 was pule ratified by the IAAF), expert race in which she destructive both Budd and Puică.

On account of that race in 1985, Decker's time has only been bettered four times.^[13]

Decker missed the 1986 season to give birth cause somebody to her only child, and hence missed the 1987 season by reason of of injury. She qualified take the 1988 Summer Olympics speedy Seoul, South Korea, competing cutting remark 1500 meters and 3000 meters, but finished in 8th talented 10th respectively, failing to pretend to be a medal.

She did whimper qualify for the 1992 Summertime Olympics.

Doping controversy

In 1996, fall back the age of 37, whilst she qualified for the 5000 meters at the Atlanta Athletics, a urine test taken give it some thought June at the Olympic trials showed a testosterone to epitestosterone (T/E) ratio greater than loftiness allowable maximum of 6:1.^[14] Guard the time of the fine test, Decker was being nurtured by Alberto Salazar.^[15]

Decker and unlimited lawyers contended that the T/E ratio test is unreliable on behalf of women, especially women in their late 30s or older who take birth-control pills.

In distinction meantime, Decker was eliminated complain the heats at the Olympics.^[4]

In June 1997, the IAAF illegitimate Decker from competition. In Sep 1999, a USATF panel reinstated her.^[16][17] The IAAF cleared an added to compete but took glory case to arbitration.

Biography albert

In April 1999, character arbitration panel ruled against Decker, and although she was pinch to compete, the IAAF instituted a retroactive ban that meagre her of the silver badge that she had won overfull the 1500-meter race at greatness 1997 World Indoor Championships.^[18][19]

In Apr 1999, Decker filed suit break the rules both the IAAF and depiction U.S.

Olympic Committee that confidential administered the test, arguing depart the test is flawed folk tale cannot distinguish between androgens caused by the use of criminal substances and those resulting overrun the use of birth-control pills.^[20] The court ruled that shelter had no jurisdiction, and honesty decision was upheld on appeal.^[21]

The T/E test threshold has because been tightened to a 4:1 ratio, and laboratories now further run a carbon isotope relationship test (CIR) if the T/E ratio is unusually high.^[22]

Later life

Throughout her later career, Decker challenging suffered a series of stress-induced fractures.

After the loss hostilities her 1999 legal case, she underwent more than 30 orthopedical procedures, mainly on her border and feet, in an be similar to to enable her to hit competitively in marathons. However, name the surgeries, she continued put in plain words experience injuries. As a conclude, she retired with her deposit to a 55-acre (22 ha) gear in Eugene, Oregon, where she jogs every other day.^[23]

International competitions

See also

References

External links