Mary Decker
American middle- and long-distance runner and world-record holder.
Mary Teresa Decker (born August 4, 1958) is a retired American middle- and long-distance runner. She won gold in the 1500 meters and 3000 meters at the 1983 World Championships and held world records in the mile, 5000 meters, and 10,000 meters. Across her career, she set 17 official and unofficial world records and became the first woman to run a mile under 4:20. She also set 36 U.S. national records from 800 meters to 10,000 meters, and has held the American records in the 2000 meters and 3000 meters since the early 1980s. Her 1500-meter record lasted 32 years, and her mile record stood for 38 years. She was inducted into the National Track and Field Hall of Fame in 2003. In 1996, she received a retroactive two-year ban for a doping violation involving a high testosterone-to-epitestosterone ratio.
Decker set her first world record in 1973 with an indoor 880 yards. In 1974, she set an indoor mile world record of 4:40.1, and by 1975, she held world indoor records for 880 yards (2:02.4) and 800 meters (2:01.8). Later that year, she developed compartment syndrome, leading to injuries and stress fractures in her lower leg that kept her out of the 1976 Olympics. After surgery, she attended the University of Colorado at Boulder as a walk-on but did not run on scholarship or compete for the university team due to injuries and professional status. In 1979, she became the second American woman (after Francie Larrieu) to break 4:30 in the mile. In 1980, she was the first woman under 4:20, running 4:17.55. She missed the 1980 Moscow Olympics due to the U.S. boycott but received one of 461 Congressional Gold Medals created for those athletes. She married runner Ron Tabb in 1981; they divorced in 1983. In 1982, competing as Mary Tabb, she ran the mile in 4:18.08, breaking Lyudmila Veselkova’s official record of 4:20.89, and the time was ratified.
In 1982, Decker-Tabb set six world records from the mile to 10,000 meters and won the James E. Sullivan Award as the top U.S. amateur athlete. The next year, she pulled off the "Double Decker," winning both the 1500 meters and 3000 meters at the World Championships in Helsinki. Her easy wins in the U.S. had raised doubts about her tactical skills, but she beat Soviet world-record holders to prove her competitive instincts. After her double victory, she received the Jesse Owens Award from USA Track and Field and was named Sport
- born
- August 4, 1958
- field
- Middle-distance and long-distance running
- nationality
- American
- known_for
- World champion in 1500 m and 3000 m (1983); world records in mile, 5000 m, 10,000 m; first woman under 4:20 for the mile; 1984 Olympic incident with Zola Budd
Quick Facts
- Birth Name
- Mary Teresa Decker
- Birth Date
- 1958-08-04
- Birth Place
- Bunnvale, New Jersey, U.S.
- Height
- 168 cm
- Weight
- 51 kg
- Sport
- Middle distance running
- Event
- 800–5000 m
- Club
- Athletics West, Eugene
- Retired
- 1999
- Personal Best
- 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)
- Medal Templates
- World Championships / 1983 Helsinki · 1500 m / 1983 Helsinki · 3000 m / Pan American Games / 1979 San Juan · 1500 m
Facts from the source article.
Lore & Background
At the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles, Decker was heavily favored to win the 3000 meters. In the final, she collided with barefoot runner Zola Budd and fell, injuring her hip; she did not finish. Decker initially blamed Budd, but years later said the fall was due to her own inexperience in running in a pack. The two reconciled in 1985 after a race in London. Decker had a successful 1985 season, setting an official world record for the mile of 4:16.71. She missed the 1986 season due to childbirth and the 1987 season due to injury. At the 1988 Olympics, she finished 8th in the 1500 meters and 10th in the 3000 meters. In 1996, at age 37, she qualified for the 5000 meters at the Atlanta Olympics but was eliminated in the heats. A urine test showed a high testosterone-to-epitestosterone ratio, leading to a retroactive two-year ban from June 1996, which stripped her of a silver medal from the 1997 World Indoor Championships. Decker contested the test, arguing it was unreliable for women on birth-control pills, but lost her legal case. She later underwent more than 30 orthopedic procedures and retired to Eugene, Oregon.
Reader's Guide
Mary Decker's career is significant for her dominance in middle- and long-distance running in the early 1980s, marked by multiple world records and a historic double gold at the 1983 World Championships. Her legacy is also shaped by the controversial 1984 Olympic incident with Zola Budd, which she later acknowledged as partly her own inexperience. Decker's U.S. records in the 1500 meters and mile stood for decades, reflecting her lasting impact on American track and field. Her later doping case highlighted debates over the reliability of testosterone testing for female athletes, leading to subsequent changes in testing protocols. Despite the controversy, her achievements as a world-record holder and national champion secure her place in the sport's history.
Did You Know?
- Decker was the first woman to break 4:20 for the mile, running 4:17.55 in 1980.
- She set 17 official and unofficial world records during her career.
- Her 1500 meters U.S. record of 3:57.12 stood for 32 years, and her mile record stood for 38 years.
- She was retroactively banned for two years from June 1996 for a doping violation involving a high testosterone-to-epitestosterone ratio.
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