Mary Slaney
Decker leading the 3000 m final at the 1984 Olympics
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| Personal information | |
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| Birth name | Mary Teresa Decker |
| Nationality | United States |
| Born |
August 4, 1958 Bunnvale, New Jersey, U.S. |
| Height | 168 cm (5 ft 6 in) |
| Weight | 51 kg (112 lb) |
| Sport | |
| Sport | Middle distance running |
| Event(s) | 800–5000 m |
| Club | Athletics West, Eugene |
| Retired | 1999 |
| 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) |
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Medal record
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Mary Teresa Slaney (formerly Tabb, née Decker; born August 4, 1958) is a retired American middle-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, including being the first woman in history to run less than 4:20 for the mile. She also set 36 US national records at distances ranging from 800 meters to 10,000 meters, and has held the US record in the mile, 2000 meters and 3000 meters since the early 1980s, while her 1500 meters record stood for 32 years. In 2003 she was inducted into the National Track and Field Hall of Fame.
Mary Decker was born in Bunnvale, New Jersey. A decade later her family moved to Garden Grove in Southern California, where Decker started running. A year later, aged 11, she won her first local competition.
She joined her school athletics club and a local track club, and completely immersed herself in running, for which she would pay an injury-laden price later in her career. At age 12, she completed a marathon and four middle- and long-distance races in one week, ending the week with an appendectomy operation.
In her early teens, Decker was already recognized as a world-class runner. Unable to attend the 1972 Olympics as she was too young, the pigtailed 89 pounds (40 kg) 14-year-old nicknamed "Little Mary Decker," won international acclaim in 1973 with a win in the 800 meters at a US-Soviet meet in Minsk, beating the later Olympic silver medallist.
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