Tom Deckard

Thomas Marshall "Tom" Deckard (April 6, 1916 – July 1, 1982) was an American runner. He competed in the 5000 meters at the 1936 Summer Olympics and held world bests in the 3000-meter indoor and two-mile outdoor steeplechase races.

Biography

Deckard was born in Bloomington, Indiana on April 6, 1916.[1] He studied at Bloomington High School and later Indiana University; he won the mile run at the 1934 Indiana high school state meet in a meeting record 4:26.3.[2] At Indiana he was a teammate of leading distance runner Don Lash; as a sophomore, he placed second behind Lash in the 5000 meters at the 1936 NCAA championships.[2][3]

Deckard placed fourth in the 10,000 meters at the 1936 AAU outdoor national championships; the race also served as a national qualifier for the 1936 Summer Olympics in Berlin, and Deckard missed making the team by one place.[4]:82 The main U.S. Olympic Trials were held the following week, with Deckard entered in the 5000 meters; he received help from Lash, who was the early leader but slowed down to offer his teammate encouragement and support. Running with Lash, Deckard climbed to third place and eventually finished a clear fifty yards ahead of the next man; he clinched a place on the American team, together with Lash and Louis Zamperini.[4]:82[5] At the Olympics, Deckard placed ninth in his heat and was eliminated.[1]

With the encouragement of his coach at Indiana, Billy Hayes, Deckard turned to the 3000-meter steeplechase; he won the AAU indoor championship in that event in 1937.[2][6] His winning time, 8:48.6, was a new indoor world best; it was faster than the world outdoor best, though due to differences in tracks and the rules the indoor and outdoor records could not be fairly compared.[7] In 1939 he regained the title in an only slightly slower time, 8:49.4, outkicking defending champion Joe McCluskey on the final lap.[8] Deckard never won an outdoor AAU title; his best finish was second in the 5000 meters in 1937.[1] He set a long-standing American record and world best for the outdoor two-mile steeplechase (9:55.2) in New Orleans on January 1, 1939.[2][9][10] In addition, he ran on a record-setting 4 × 1 mile relay team at the 1937 Penn Relays; the Indiana University team (Mel Trutt, Jim Smith, Deckard and Lash) won in 17:16.2, breaking the U.S. national team's world record from the previous year by one second. This world record was officially ratified.[11]:152[12]

Deckard graduated from Indiana, receiving a Bachelor of Science degree in 1939 and a Master of Science degree in 1940.[13] The cancellation of the 1940 Summer Olympic Games due to World War II cost him the opportunity to attempt to qualify for a second Olympics.[2] He was track coach at Bloomington High in 1941–42 before joining the U.S. Navy, where he served for the duration of the war.[13] Deckard returned to Indiana University in 1946 as head coach of the cross-country team and assistant coach of the track team.[14] In 1948 Deckard moved to Drake University, where he was track head coach and director of the Drake Relays; he resigned the job in late 1954 to become a businessman.[13][15]

Deckard received the Z. G. Clevenger Award in 1971.[13] He died in Indianapolis in July 1982.[1]

Footnotes

  1. 1 2 3 4 "Tom Deckard Bio, Stats and Results". Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved November 30, 2015.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 Hammel, Bob; Klingelhoffer, Kit (1999). Glory of Old IU. Sports Publishing LLC. p. 79. ISBN 9781582610689.
  3. ↑ Hill, E. Garry. "A History of the NCAA Championships: Men's 5000 Meters" (PDF). Track & Field News. Retrieved November 29, 2015.
  4. 1 2 Hymans, Richard (2008). "The History of the United States Olympic Trials – Track & Field" (PDF). USA Track & Field. Retrieved November 26, 2015.
  5. ↑ Davis, Josh (2008). The Goal and the Glory: Christian Athletes Share Their Inspiring Stories. Gospel Light Publications. pp. 181–182. ISBN 9780830746002.
  6. ↑ "Old Man River McCluskey Rolls On To McDonald's All-Time Mark". High Point Enterprise. January 9, 1942. Retrieved November 29, 2015.
  7. ↑ Quercetani, Roberto (2009). World History of Hurdle and Steeplechase Racing: Men and Women. Edit Vallardi. p. 36. ISBN 9788895684291.
  8. ↑ "Tolmich Sets New World's Record at Indoor Track Meet" (PDF). The Daily Colonist. February 26, 1939. p. 13. Retrieved November 29, 2015.
  9. ↑ "Tom Deckard, Boss of Drake Relays, Has Easy Going Manner". Times-Standard. February 6, 1952. Retrieved November 29, 2015.
  10. ↑ "A.A.U. Will Question Records Made on Dartmouth Track". Salt Lake Tribune. December 6, 1939. Retrieved November 29, 2015.
  11. ↑ Hymans, Richard; Matrahazi, Imre. "IAAF World Records Progression" (pdf) (2015 ed.). International Association of Athletics Federations. Retrieved October 20, 2015.
  12. ↑ The actual time was 17:16.1, but in accordance with the official rules it was rounded up to the next fifth of a second.
  13. 1 2 3 4 "Tom Deckard". University Honors & Awards: Indiana University. Retrieved November 29, 2015.
  14. ↑ "Tommy Deckard Named Coach of Indiana Harriers". The Indianapolis Star. September 19, 1946. Retrieved November 29, 2015.
  15. ↑ "Drake Track Coach, Tom Deckard, Quits". The Milwaukee Journal. December 14, 1954. Retrieved November 29, 2015.
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