- Four-Time AIAW All-American
- 1978 AIAW Cross Country Individual National Champion
- 1978 AIAW Indoor 1,000 Meter National Champion
- USA Track & Field Hall of Fame
She spent two seasons at the CU (1977-78, 1978-79) on a track scholarship before she turned professional after her sophomore year and moved to Oregon to join Athletics West ... A two-time AIAW All-American in cross country, she was the 1978 individual national champion ... Also the ’78 national champion in the Indoor 1,000 as she was a two-time All-American indoors ... Still holds two school indoor records (800, 1000) ... She was the Big 8 Indoor champion in four events (400, 800, Mile and 4x400 relay) ... In 1980, she broke the world record for the women's mile, running a 4:17.55 to become the first woman to break the 4:20 barrier for the mile ... In 1982 Decker set six world records, at the following distances: 800m, 1500, mile, 3000, 5000 and 10,000; she is the only athlete to ever hold all six, much less at the same time ... Overall, she set world records in 10 different events ... She still holds the U.S. women's records in the 1500 (3:57.12), mile (4:16.71) and 3000 (8:25.83) ... In 1983, she achieved a "Decker Double", winning both the 1500 meters and 3000 meters events at the 1983 World Championships in Helsinki ... In 1982, she received the James E. Sullivan Award as the top amateur athlete in the United States, and the following year she won the Jesse Owens Award from USA Track and Field andÂ
Sports Illustrated magazine named her Sportsperson of the Year ... Over her career, Decker set 36 national records and 17 official and unofficial world records at various distances ... A six-time winner at the Millrose Games in New York, she won her first Millrose crown at age 15 and her last at age 38 ... Decker first received international fame at the age of 14 with a surprise victory in the 800 meters at a USA vs. USSR dual meet, and she went on to qualify for four Olympic teams .... She competed in her final Olympics in 1996 at the age of 37 ... In 2003, she was inducted into the USA Track & Field Hall of Fame as well as into the National Distance Running Hall of Fame.
Â
