(Born August 4, 1958) Mary Slaney moved to Eugene in 1979 and began training at South Eugene High School with Nike’s Athletics West track team.
She went on to become the only athlete to hold U.S. track records from 800 to 10,000 meters. In 1982, she set world records in the mile (4:18.08), 2,000 meters (5:32.7), 3,000 indoors (8:47.3), 5,000 (15:08.26) and 10,000 (31:35.3) and received the Sullivan Award as the outstanding amateur athlete in the United States. Slaney won both the 1,500 and 3,000 at the 1983 world championships in Helsinki, Finland.
During her illustrious running career, she set 36 national records and 17 world records, despite repeated injuries. In 2003, she was inducted into the National Distance Running Hall of Fame.