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Tom Pappas, contender for a gold medal in the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens, was the gold medalist in the decathlon at the world outdoor championships in Paris, and the heptathlon at the world indoor meet. He is only the second American to have won the world championships. He and distance runner Deena Drossin Kastor received the 2003 Jesse Owens Awards as the top U.S track and field athletes of the year. In addition to the world championships, Pappas' wins include: 2000 Olympic Trials Champion; 5th in the 2000 Olympics; 2-time USA Outdoor Champion (2002 and 2003); 1999 NCAA Champion; 1999 US runner-up; 1995 Pan-American Junior Champion. While a student at the University of Tennessee, he was named GTE Academic All-American with a GPA of 3.83; he earned All-American in 1997 with the 19th best decathlon score in the country.
Though he was born in Oregon, a fourth-generation American, Pappas' great-grandfather immigrated to the U.S. from Greece. He has a family history of athletic achievement: his grandfather, who had also competed in the decathlon, was a semi-professional football player until he suffered a neck injury and switched to wrestling. His father, Nick, was the crew chief for a land-speed record set at Utah�s Bonneville Salt Flats. And both of his brothers also competed in multiple sports. In 2000, the three Pappas brothers, Paul, Tom, and Bill, held the world record for three brothers in the decathlon with a combined top score of 22,558.
A favorite for Olympic gold in the 2004 Olympics, Pappas was sidelined by a foot injury. Another injury kept him from competing in the 2008 Beijing Olympics Games. He is currently an assistant track and field coach at Kansas State University.
Last updated: March 24, 2009.
