Richard Slaney

Richard Slaney

Personal information
Nationality	British (English)
Born	(1956-05-16) 16 May 1956 (age 69) Redhill, Surrey, England
Height	6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) [1]
Weight	265 lb (120 kg)
Sport
Sport	Athletics, Strongman
Event	Discus throw
College team	San Diego State University
Club	Essex Beagles
Medal record Strongman Representing   United Kingdom Britain's Strongest Man 1980 1981 1982 Europe's Strongest Man 1980

Richard Charles Slaney (born 16 May 1956) is a male British discus thrower who competed in the 1984 Summer Olympics and strongman competitor, notable for being a repeat winner of the Britain's Strongest Man title.

At the UK Athletics Championships he won in 1979, ranked second in 1977 to 1978, and was third in 1980. He also came third in the shot put in 1980. ^[2]

Biography

Slaney was born in Redhill, Surrey. As a sportsman he was foremost a field athlete specialising in the discus. However, whilst actively pursuing this sport, he did compete as a strength athlete and won the Britain's Strongest Man competition in 1980 and 1982. ^[3] He also finished second behind Geoff Capes in the 1980 Europe's Strongest Man competition. Across the pond in the same time period, he competed in track and field at San Diego State University. He is still the university record holder in the discus throw, his 64.64 best in 1982 outdistances the next best in university history by over 5 metres. ^[4] He represented England in the discus and shot put events, at the 1982 Commonwealth Games in Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. ^[5]

As a discus thrower he qualified for the 1984 Olympic Games finishing 15th overall. Domestically, he threw the 2nd best UK discus performance of 1980, 3rd best in 1981 and the top UK discus performances in 1982 to 1986 inclusive. ^[6] In 1986 he became the British discus throw champion after winning the British AAA Championships title at the 1986 AAA Championships. ^{[7] [8]} . His personal best of 65.16m makes him the second best British thrower after Perriss Wilkins. ^[9]

At the 1984 Olympics Slaney is remembered for carrying his fiancee Mary Decker from the track after she lay stricken at trackside during the 3,000m final, having tripped over the bare feet of Zola Budd. Decker and Slaney married on 1 January 1985; their daughter Ashley was born on 30 May 1986. ^[10] He represented England in the discus event, at the 1986 Commonwealth Games in Edinburgh, Scotland. ^{[11] [12]}

After he retired in 1986 Slaney became a businessman. He also works on restoring antique airplanes ^[13] living with his family on a 55-acre (220,000 m²) ranch in Eugene, Oregon, US. They have three Weimaraner dogs. ^[14]

References

1. "Biography at sports-reference.com". Archived from the original on 23 August 2011. Retrieved 28 March 2018.
2. "UK Championships". gbrathletics.com. Archived from the original on 2 October 2018. Retrieved 13 April 2020.
3. "David Horne's World of Grip". Archived from the original on 16 November 2018. Retrieved 8 October 2010.
4. "San Diego State Track Records". Archived from the original on 19 February 2014. Retrieved 12 March 2014.
5. "1982 Athletes". Team England. Archived from the original on 21 August 2019. Retrieved 13 April 2020.
6. "UK Top Performers 1980-2005: Men (Outdoor)". gbrathletics.com. Archived from the original on 24 October 2010. Retrieved 13 April 2020.
7. "AAA, WAAA and National Championships Medallists". National Union of Track Statisticians. Retrieved 7 June 2025.
8. "AAA Championships (men)". GBR Athletics. Retrieved 7 June 2025.
9. "UK All-Time Lists: Men - Throws". Archived from the original on 21 September 2010. Retrieved 8 October 2010.
10. "The ten sporting love matches". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 7 September 2012.
11. "1986 Athletes". Team England. Archived from the original on 21 August 2019. Retrieved 13 April 2020.
12. "Athletes and results". Commonwealth Games Federation. Archived from the original on 2 October 2019. Retrieved 13 April 2020.
13. Reed, Susan (17 October 1994). "Going the Distance". People. Vol. 42, no. 16. Archived from the original on 10 January 2011. Retrieved 8 October 2010.
14. Gene Cherry (28 July 2009). "Mary Slaney still yearns to run". Sports Illustrated. Archived from the original on 9 July 2012. Retrieved 27 May 2010.

External links

• sports-reference.com profile

Preceded by Geoff Capes Geoff Capes	Britain's Strongest Man 1980 1982	Succeeded by Geoff Capes Geoff Capes