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Jenner in 2017

Caitlyn Marie Jenner (born William Bruce Jenner; October 28, 1949), formerly known as Bruce Jenner, is an American media personality and former Olympic gold medal-winning decathlete. (Full article...)

This section is an excerpt from Caitlyn Jenner § Olympic success.[edit]
Jenner at the 1975 Pan American Games

Jenner was the American champion in the men's decathlon event in 1974, and was featured on the cover of Track & Field News magazine's August 1974 issue.[1][2] While on tour in 1975, Jenner won the French national championship,[3] and a gold medal at the 1975 Pan American Games, setting the tournament record with 8,045 points.[4] This was followed by world records of 8,524 points at the U.S.A./U.S.S.R./Poland triangular meet in Eugene, Oregon, on August 9–10, 1975, breaking Avilov's record,[5] and 8,538 points at the 1976 Olympic trials, also in Eugene.[6][7] The second Eugene record was a hybrid score because of a timing system failure and it was wind aided. Still, Jenner was proud of "A nice little workout, huh?"

We got what we wanted. We scared the hell out of everybody in the world only a month away from the Games.[8]

Of the 13 decathlons Jenner competed in between 1973 and 1976, the only loss was at the 1975 AAU National Championships, when a "no height" in the pole vault marred the score.[4]

At the 1976 Olympic Games in Montreal, Jenner achieved personal bests in all five events on the first day of the men's decathlon – a "home run" – despite being in second place behind Guido Kratschmer of West Germany. Jenner was confident: "The second day has all my good events. If everything works out all right, we should be ahead after it's all over." Following a rainstorm on the second day, Jenner watched teammate Fred Dixon get injured in the 110 meter hurdles[9] and so adopted a cautious approach to the hurdles and discus, then had personal bests in the pole vault, when Jenner took the lead, and javelin.[10] At that point, victory was virtually assured, and it remained to be seen by how much Jenner would improve the record. In the final event – the 1500 meters, which was seen live on national television – Jenner looked content to finish the long competition. Jenner sprinted the last lap, making up a 50-meter deficit and nearly catching the event favorite, Soviet Leonid Litvinenko, who was already well out of contention for the gold medal, and whose personal best had been eight seconds better than Jenner's personal best before the race. Jenner set a new personal best time and won the gold medal with a world-record score of 8,618 points.[11][6][12][13][14]

More selected biographies
  1. ^ "1974 Covers (18-issue year)". Track & Field News. Archived from the original on March 4, 2016. Retrieved June 7, 2016.
  2. ^ "USA Outdoor Track & Field Hall of Fame". USA Track & Field. Archived from the original on April 7, 2014. Retrieved April 2, 2014.
  3. ^ "French Championships". gbrathletics.com. 2007. Archived from the original on December 26, 2010. Retrieved June 7, 2016.
  4. ^ a b Mike Sielski (November 19, 2003). "Jenner true to word, wins Olympic gold". ESPN Classic. Archived from the original on March 3, 2016. Retrieved March 1, 2015.
  5. ^ Conrad, John (August 11, 1975). "Jenner gets his record – handily". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). p. 1C. Archived from the original on August 20, 2021. Retrieved October 22, 2020.
  6. ^ a b Richard Hymans (2008). "The History of the United States Olympic trials – Track and Field" (PDF). USA Track and Field. Archived (PDF) from the original on March 27, 2016. Retrieved June 10, 2016.
  7. ^ Conrad, John (June 27, 1976). "Brigham's Olympian hopes at end". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). p. 1C. Archived from the original on August 20, 2021. Retrieved October 22, 2020.
  8. ^ Litsky, Frank (June 27, 1976). "Jenner Triumphs In Decathlon Trial". The New York Times. Archived from the original on June 14, 2018. Retrieved May 28, 2018.
  9. ^ "Heading For The 11th Event". Sports Illustrated Vault | Si.com. Archived from the original on August 8, 2018. Retrieved May 28, 2018.
  10. ^ "Bruce Jenner Javelin Record". brucejennerinterviews.com. Archived from the original on March 4, 2016. Retrieved June 6, 2016.
  11. ^ Maury White. "Bruce Jenner". The Des Moines Register. Archived from the original on February 21, 2015. Retrieved June 6, 2016.
  12. ^ Arash Markazi (July 30, 2015). "Bruce Jenner became an Olympic icon exactly 39 years ago". ESPN. Archived from the original on June 11, 2016. Retrieved June 6, 2016.
  13. ^ "Athletics at the 1976 Montréal Summer Games: Men's Decathlon". Sports Reference. Archived from the original on April 17, 2020. Retrieved June 6, 2016.
  14. ^ "Jenner's long haul pays off with gold and world mark". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). wire services. July 31, 1976. p. 1B. Archived from the original on August 20, 2021. Retrieved October 22, 2020.
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