Everything about Mary Decker totally explained
}}
Mary Slaney (born
Mary Teresa Decker August 4,
1958) is an
American former
track and field athlete, who holds seven American records in her sport. In
1981 she married
marathon runner
Ron Tabb. The couple divorced two years later and on
January 1,
1985 Decker married
discus thrower
Richard Slaney.
Early career
Making her international track debut as a pigtailed, 89-pound (40 kg) fourteen-year-old girl, "Little Mary Decker" became one of the most famous track and field competitors of her era. She won international acclaim in 1973 with wins in the 800 meter at a US-
Soviet meet in
Minsk. By 1974, Decker was the world record holder at 2:26.7 for 1000 meters, 2:02.4 for 880 yards, and 2:01.8 for
800 meters.
Career peak
In
1982 Decker set six world records, at distances ranging from the
mile to
10 000 meters. The following year she achieved a "Decker Double", winning both the
1500 meter and 3000 meter events at the
World Championships in
Helsinki,
Finland. In 1982, she received the
James E. Sullivan Award as the top amateur athlete in the United States, and
Sports Illustrated magazine named her Sportsperson of the Year for
1983.
Decker was heavily favored to win a gold medal at the
1984 Summer Olympics, held at
Los Angeles. In the
3000 meters final,
Zola Budd, half a stride ahead of Decker, moved to the inside lane, inadvertently crowding Decker, who collided with Budd and fell spectacularly to the curb. Decker's
hip was injured and she was unable to resume the race. She was carried from the track by her future husband. At a press conference she said that Budd was to blame for the collision. (In track races it's generally the trailing athlete's responsibility to avoid contact with the runner ahead; on the other hand, it's an accepted convention among most distance runners that the leader should be a full stride ahead before cutting in.) Track officials initially disqualified Budd for obstruction, but she was reinstated just one hour later once officials had viewed films of the race.
In the
August 20,
1984 edition of
Sports Illustrated the commentary was the following:
2000 meters race, also in Los Angeles. Asked to apologize for her comments about Budd, she answered: "I don't feel that I've any reason to apologize. I was wronged, like anyone else in that situation."
Decker and Budd next met in July 1985, in a 3000 meters race at
Crystal Palace National Sports Centre in
London,
England. Decker won the race, and Budd finished in fourth place. After the race, the two women shook hands and made up. Decker later went on record as claiming that she was unfairly robbed of the LA 3000 meter Gold Medal by Budd, although many track experts doubt whether she'd have beaten eventual winner
Maricica Puica.
Decker had a magnificent season in 1985, winning twelve prestigious mile and 3000 meters races in the European athletics calendar. She sat out the 1986 season to give birth to her only child, daughter Ashley Lynn (born
May 30,
1986), but missed the 1987 season through injury, failed to medal at the
1988 Summer Olympics in
Seoul, South Korea and didn't qualify for the
1992 Games.
Controversy
In 1996, at the age of 37, as she qualified for the
5000 meters at the
Atlanta Olympics, Decker became involved in the greatest controversy of her life. A
urine test taken in June at the Olympic Trials showed a
testosterone to
epitestosterone (T/E) ratio greater than the allowable maximum of six to one. Disputes over that test result went on for years and the test remains controversial.
Decker and her lawyers contended that the T/E ratio test is unreliable for women, especially women in their late 30s or older who are taking
birth control pills. One percent of all adult woman, and a higher percentage of older women, have T/E ratios of 6-to-1 and above. (In the meantime, Decker was eliminated in the heats at the Olympics.) An
International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) arbitration panel eventually ruled it unnecessary to show that a T/E ratio was high because of a banned substance; the mere fact that the ratio was over the allowable maximum was enough.
USA Track and Field (USATF) sided with Decker.
In June, 1997, the IAAF banned Decker from competition. In September, a USATF panel reinstated her. The IAAF cleared her to compete but took the case to
arbitration. In April, 1999, the arbitration panel ruled against her, after which the IAAF stripped her of a silver medal she'd won in the 1500 meters at the
1997 World Indoor Championships.
Decker filed suit against both the IAAF and the
U.S. Olympic Committee which administered the test, arguing that the test is flawed and can't distinguish between
androgens caused by the use of banned substances and androgens resulting from the use of birth control pills. The court ruled that it had no jurisdiction, a decision which was upheld on appeal.
Later life
In 2000, at the age of 42, Decker again attempted to return to the Olympics, but failed to qualify.
In 2003, Decker was inducted into the USA Track and Field Hall of Fame, the
Oregon Sports Hall of Fame in 2005 as well as being honored as one of the
Rocky Mountains' greatest athletes ever.
Further Information
Get more info on 'Mary Decker'.
|
External Link Exchanges
Do you know how hard it is to get a link from a large encyclopaedia? Well we're different and will prove it. To get a link from us just add the following HTML to your site on a relevant page:
<a href="http://mary_decker.totallyexplained.com">Mary Decker Totally Explained</a>
Then simply click through this link from your web page. Our crawlers will verify your link, extract the title of your web page and instantly add a link back to it. If you like you can remove the words Totally Explained and embed the link in article text.
As long as your link remains in place, we'll keep our link to you right here. Please play fair - our crawlers are watching. Your site must be closely related to this one's topic. Any kind of spamming, dubious practises or removing the link will result in your link from us being dropped and, potentially, your whole site being banned. |
