Tom Pappas

{{short description|American track & field decathlete (born 1976)}}

{{MedalCountry|{{USA}}}}

Tom Pappas (born September 6, 1976) is an American decathlete.

Early life

Pappas was born in Azalea, Oregon. He graduated from Glendale High School in 1994, and from the University of Tennessee in 1999.{{cite news | last=Weir | first=Tom | title=Understated decathlete Pappas faces 10 the hard way | date=August 5, 2004 | url=http://www.usatoday.com/sports/olympics/athens/track/2004-08-05-portrait-pappas_x.htm | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20040823221450/http://www.usatoday.com/sports/olympics/athens/track/2004-08-05-portrait-pappas_x.htm | archive-date=August 23, 2004 | url-status=dead | work=usatoday.com }}

Career

Pappas is a four-time U.S. champion (2000, 2002, 2003, 2006) and was the 1999 NCAA champion while attending the University of Tennessee. Before his time at Tennessee, Pappas also competed in the Northwest Athletic Conference for the Lane Titans track and field team.{{cite web |title=Track & Field Records - Men |url=https://www.lanetitans.com/sports/track/recordsmen |website=Lane Titans |access-date=30 January 2025}} He won the gold medal at the 2003 World Championships and was rated number 1 in the world that year by Track & Field News. His personal best in the decathlon is 8,784 points while winning the 2003 US Championships held at Stanford University.{{cite news | last=Crumpacker | first=John | title=Explosive White steals 200 title | date=June 23, 2003 | url=https://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/explosive-white-steals-200-title-2607144.php | work=sfgate.com }}

He won the 2003 Jesse Owens Award from USATF, an award given to the Athlete of the Year.{{cite web |title=USA Track & Field - Annual Awards - Jesse Owens Award |url=http://www.usatf.org/statistics/Annual-Awards/TF/JesseOwensAward.aspx |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131103073344/http://www.usatf.org/statistics/Annual-Awards/TF/JesseOwensAward.aspx |archive-date=2013-11-03 |access-date=2013-08-02 |website=USA Track & Field |publisher=}}

Pappas finished fifth at the 2000 Olympic decathlon.{{cite news | last=Schnell | first=Lindsay | title=Olympics not new for Pappas, just his outlook | date=August 16, 2008 | url=https://archive.knoxnews.com/sports/vols/other/olympics-not-new-for-pappas-just-his-outlook-ep-411177727-359809121.html | work=knoxnews.com }} He placed third in the decathlon at the 2008 United States Olympic trials (track and field) in Eugene, Oregon, but was unable to complete the decathlon in Beijing due to a plantar fasciitis injury.{{cite news | last=Goe | first=Ken | title=Tom Pappas is out of the decathlon | date=August 21, 2008 | url=https://www.oregonlive.com/olympics/2008/08/tom_pappas_is_out_of_the_decat.html | work=oregonlive.com }}

Post-career

Pappas is the co-owner of Lane 5 Crossfit in Eugene, Oregon.{{cite web | title=MEET OUR TALENTED COACHES | access-date=May 22, 2024 | url=https://lane5crossfit.com/about-us/coaches/ | work=lane5crossfit.com }}

Achievements

class="wikitable" style="text-align:center; font-size:95%; width:65%;"

!Tournament

!Venue

!Result

!Extra

1999

|World Championships

|Seville, Spain

|DNF

|Decathlon

2000

|Olympic Games

|Sydney, Australia

|5th

|Decathlon

2001

|Goodwill Games

|Brisbane, Australia

| style="background:#c96;"| 3rd

|Decathlon

rowspan=2|2003

|World Indoor Championships

|Birmingham, England

| style="background:gold;"| 1st

|Heptathlon

World Championships

|Paris, France

| style="background:gold;"| 1st

|Decathlon

rowspan=2|2004

|Hypo-Meeting

|Götzis, Austria

| style="background:silver;"| 2nd

|Decathlon

Olympic Games

|Athens, Greece

|DNF

|Decathlon

2008

|Olympic Games

|Beijing, PR China

|DNF

|Decathlon

=Personal bests=

Event ! Performance ! Location ! Date ! Points
class="wikitable"
Decathlon	align=right \| 8,784 points	Palo Alto	June 22, 2003	align=center \|8,784 points
100 meters	align=right \| 10.65 (-0.2 m/s)	Götzis	June 6, 2003	align=center \|940 points
Long jump	align=right \| {{T&Fcalc\|7.96}} (+1.4 m/s)	Palo Alto	June 21, 2003	align=center \|1,050 points
Shot put	align=right \| {{T&Fcalc\|17.26}}	Eugene	June 29, 2008	align=center \|929 points
High jump	align=right \| {{T&Fcalc\|2.21}}	Götzis	September 27, 2000	align=center \|1,002 points
400 meters	align=right \| 47.58	Paris Saint-Denis	August 26, 2003	align=center \|930 points
110 meters hurdles	align=right \| 13.90 (+0.3 m/s)	Götzis	August 6, 1997	align=center \|987 points
Discus throw	align=right \| {{T&Fcalc\|52.18}}	El Paso	January 1, 2003	align=center \|916 points
Pole vault	align=right \| {{T&Fcalc\|5.20}}	Götzis	May 30, 2004	align=center \|972 points
Javelin throw	align=right \| {{T&Fcalc\|66.56}}	Sarasota	June 9, 2000	align=center \|837 points
1500 meters	align=right \| 4:35.14		January 1, 1995	align=center \|711 points
colspan=4 align=right\| Virtual Best Performance	align="center" \| 9,274 points