Bill Toomey' Perseverance to the Next LEVEL.. Olympic Decathlon Gold Medal

William Anthony Toomey (born January 10, 1939) is an American former track and field competitor and the 1968 Olympic decathlon champion.[1]

Recognized as one of the greatest all-around track and field athletes in history, Toomey’s dedication and perseverance, combined with intense desire and determination, enabled him to capture just about every honor and award available to a track and field athlete.

Winner of the Olympic Decathlon in Mexico City in 1968—a triumph said to identify the finest athlete in the world—Toomey was also the holder of the world-record for the grueling ten-event test.

Bill Toomey is a legend. Handsome and articulate, the former schoolteacher was credited with eight of the eleven best scores in the recorded history of the decathlon. He won five straight U.S. Amateur Athletic Union championships before finally breaking the world decathlon record in December of 1969 with 8,417 points. 

In 1969, Toomey’s s competed in ten decathlons—most decathletes limited themselves from two to four. During that triumphant year, Bill married another track and field great, Mary Rand of England, winner of the gold, silver and bronze medals in the 1964 Tokyo Games.

Toomey was head coach in track and field at the University of California at Irvine in the early 1970s.