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Photograph by Brian Lanker

"Decker strode across the finish upright, opened her eyes and coasted to a stop, her expression blank. 'I hadn't seen her fall,' she says. 'My eyes had been shut. I didn't know I had won until I saw the replay on the scoreboard.'"

Text by Kenny Moore
Issue Date: December 26, 1983

In 1983 Mary Decker won the 1500 and 3000 meter races at the inaugural World Track and Field Championships. Decker went undefeated in the 20 races she entered during the year. Over a two-year span, she broke the world record at all seven distances between 800 and 10,000 meters.