Bill Toomey
![]() Bill Toomey in 1968 | |
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Born | January 10, 1939 |
| Height | 1.87 m (6 ft 2 in) |
| Weight | 87 kg (192 lb) |
| Sport | |
| Sport | Athletics |
Event | Decathlon |
| Club | Southern California Striders |
| Achievements and titles | |
| Personal bests | 100 – 10.3 (1966) 200 – 21.2 (1966) 400 – 45.6 (1968) 1500 – 4:12.7 (1964) 110H – 14.2 (1969) 400H – 51.7 (1961) HJ – 6–6¾ (2.00) (1969) PV – 14–0¼ (4.27) (1969) LJ – 26–0¼ (7.93) (1969) SP – 47–2¼ (14.38) (1969) DT – 154–2 (46.99) (1969) JT – 225–8 (68.78) (1969) Dec – 8309 (1969) |
Medal record | |
William Anthony Toomey (born January 10, 1939) is an American former track and field competitor and was the 1968 Olympic decathlon champion.[1]
Athletic and broadcast career
Toomey was an All-American for the Colorado Buffaloes track and field team, finishing 7th in the 400 meters hurdles at the 1961 NCAA track and field championships.[2]
He won 23 of the 38 decathlons he competed in, scoring over 8,000 points a dozen times. He was on the cover of the October 1969 issue of Track and Field News..[3] His 400m time of 45.68 set during the 1968 Olympics was the decathlon world best until 2015 when it was surpassed by Ashton Eaton's 45.00.
Toomey was head coach in track and field for the UC Irvine Anteaters in the early 1970s. Before that he worked as a television broadcaster and marketing consultant.[1]
Toomey also competed in Masters Track and Field.[4]
He married British 1964 Olympic long jump champion Mary Rand.[5]
References
- 1 2 "Bill Toomey". Sports-Reference.com. Archived from the original on January 14, 2020.
- ↑ "400 meters hurdles at the NCAA Division I Men's Outdoor Track and Field Championships". USTFCCCA. Retrieved December 28, 2024.
- ↑ Past Covers 1969 Archived March 3, 2016, at the Wayback Machine. Trackandfieldnews.com. Retrieved on July 17, 2015.
- ↑ National Masters News. Retrieved Nov 29, 2020
- ↑ Elizabeth Hudson, 'Mary Rand - the trailblazing Olympic champion who captured Mick Jagger's eye'. BBC Sport, 28 March 2026. Retrieved 28 March 2026
External links
Media related to Bill Toomey at Wikimedia Commons
- Bill Toomey. mtsac.edu
- Bill Toomey at the USATF Hall of Fame (archived)
- Bill Toomey at the Team USA Hall of Fame (archive July 20, 2023)
- Bill Toomey at Olympics.com
- Bill Toomey at Olympedia
- 1939 births
- Living people
- American men decathletes
- Athletes (track and field) at the 1968 Summer Olympics
- Colorado Buffaloes men's track and field athletes
- Medalists at the 1965 Summer Universiade
- James E. Sullivan Award recipients
- Athletes (track and field) at the 1967 Pan American Games
- Medalists at the 1967 Pan American Games
- Pan American Games gold medalists for the United States in athletics (track and field)
- Medalists at the 1968 Summer Olympics
- Olympic gold medalists for the United States in track and field
- Sports coaches from California
- Track & Field News Athlete of the Year winners
- Track and field athletes from Philadelphia
- UC Irvine Anteaters track and field coaches
- FISU World University Games gold medalists for the United States
- Universiade medalists in athletics (track and field)
- Worcester Academy alumni
- World record setters in the sport of athletics
- American masters athletes
- 20th-century American sportsmen
- American men hurdlers

