Tom Pappas is an American

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 track & field

Track and field

Track and field is a sport comprising various competitive athletic contests based around the activities of running, jumping and throwing. The name of the sport derives from the venue for the competitions: a stadium which features an oval running track surrounding a grassy area...

 decathlete

Decathlon

The decathlon is a combined event in athletics consisting of ten track and field events. The word decathlon is of Greek origin . Events are held over two consecutive days and the winners are determined by the combined performance in all. Performance is judged on a points system in each event, not...

.

Pappas won the gold medal

Gold medal

A gold medal is typically the medal awarded for highest achievement in a non-military field. Its name derives from the use of at least a fraction of gold in form of plating or alloying in its manufacture...

 at the 2003 World Championships

2003 World Championships in Athletics

The 9th World Championships in Athletics, under the auspices of the International Association of Athletics Federations, were held from 23 August to 31 August 2003 in the Stade de France in Saint-Denis, Seine-Saint-Denis, France.-Track:...

 held outside Paris

Paris

Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...

, France

France

The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...

, and was rated number 1 in the world that year by Track & Field News. He is a four-time US champion (2000, 2002, 2003, 2006) and was the 1999 NCAA champion while attending the University of Tennessee

University of Tennessee

The University of Tennessee is a public land-grant university headquartered at Knoxville, Tennessee, United States...

. He finished fifth at the 2000 Olympic

2000 Summer Olympics

The Sydney 2000 Summer Olympic Games or the Millennium Games/Games of the New Millennium, officially known as the Games of the XXVII Olympiad, were an international multi-sport event which was celebrated between 15 September and 1 October 2000 in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia...

 decathlon

Athletics at the 2000 Summer Olympics - Men's decathlon

The Men's Decathlon at the 2000 Summer Olympics as part of the athletics program was held at the Stadium Australia on Wednesday September 27 and Thursday September 28....

, and competed in but did not finish the decathlon

Athletics at the 2004 Summer Olympics - Men's Decathlon

The Decathlon at the 2004 Summer Olympics as part of the athletics program was held at the Athens Olympic Stadium on August 23 and August 24....

 due to a foot injury at the 2004 Olympic Games. His personal best in the decathlon is 8,784 points while winning the 2003 US Championships held at Stanford University

Stanford University

The Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University or Stanford, is a private research university on an campus located near Palo Alto, California. It is situated in the northwestern Santa Clara Valley on the San Francisco Peninsula, approximately northwest of San...

, CA

California

California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...

.

Tom Pappas is currently an assistant track & field coach at Kansas State University

Kansas State University

Kansas State University, commonly shortened to K-State, is an institution of higher learning located in Manhattan, Kansas, in the United States...

 for jumps and combined events.

He placed 3rd at the United States Olympic Trials in the Decathlon in Eugene, Oregon

Eugene, Oregon

Eugene is the second largest city in the U.S. state of Oregon and the seat of Lane County. It is located at the south end of the Willamette Valley, at the confluence of the McKenzie and Willamette rivers, about east of the Oregon Coast.As of the 2010 U.S...

 in July, 2008 to qualify for the Beijing Olympics

2008 Summer Olympics

The 2008 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XXIX Olympiad, was a major international multi-sport event that took place in Beijing, China, from August 8 to August 24, 2008. A total of 11,028 athletes from 204 National Olympic Committees competed in 28 sports and 302 events...

 in August.

Pappas also was unable to complete the decathlon in Beijing due to injury in 2008.

Achievements

Tournament	Venue	Result	Extra
1999	World Championships 1999 World Championships in Athletics - Men's Decathlon These are the official results of the Men's Decathlon competition at the 1999 World Championships in Seville, Spain. There were a total number of 25 participating athletes, including nine non-finishers. The competition started on Tuesday August 24, 1999 and ended on Wednesday August 25, 1999...	Seville, Spain	DNF	Decathlon
2000	Olympic Games Athletics at the 2000 Summer Olympics - Men's decathlon The Men's Decathlon at the 2000 Summer Olympics as part of the athletics program was held at the Stadium Australia on Wednesday September 27 and Thursday September 28....	Sydney, Australia	5th	Decathlon
2001	Goodwill Games 2001 Goodwill Games The 2001 Goodwill Games was the fifth and final edition of the international multi-sport event. The competition was held in Brisbane, Australia from 29 August to 9 September 2001. A total around 1300 athletes took part in 14 sporting competitions....	Brisbane, Australia	3rd	Decathlon Athletics at the 2001 Goodwill Games At the 2001 Goodwill Games, the athletics events were held at the ANZ Stadium in Brisbane, Australia from 4–7 September. A total of 44 events were contested, with 22 events each for male and female athletes.-Records:-Men:-Women:-Medal table:...
2003	World Indoor Championships 2003 IAAF World Indoor Championships The 9th IAAF World Indoor Championships in Athletics were held in the National Indoor Arena in Birmingham, UK from 14 March to 16 March 2003. It was the first time the Championships had been held in the UK...	Birmingham Birmingham Birmingham is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands of England. It is the most populous British city outside the capital London, with a population of 1,036,900 , and lies at the heart of the West Midlands conurbation, the second most populous urban area in the United Kingdom with a... , England England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...	1st	Heptathlon
	World Championships 2003 World Championships in Athletics - Men's Decathlon These are the official results of the men's decathlon competition at the 2003 World Championships in Athletics in Paris, France. There were a total number of 20 participating athletes, including eight non-finishers...	Paris, France	1st	Decathlon
2004	Hypo-Meeting Hypo-Meeting The Hypo-Meeting is an annual athletics competition that takes place in the Mösle stadium in Götzis, Austria, held in the spring . The meeting began as a men's only contest in 1975 and a women's competition was added in 1981...	Götzis Götzis Götzis is a town in the western Austrian state of Vorarlberg, district Feldkirch.The town is well-known for its annual hypo-combined events meeting, the so called Hypo-Meeting, where some of the world's leading decathletes and heptathletes gather in the Mösle stadium... , Austria Austria Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...	2nd	Decathlon 2004 Hypo-Meeting The 30th edition of the annual Hypo-Meeting took place on May 29 and May 30, 2004 in Götzis, Austria. The track and field competition, featuring a decathlon and a heptathlon event was part of the 2004 IAAF World Combined Events Challenge....
	Olympic Games Athletics at the 2004 Summer Olympics - Men's Decathlon The Decathlon at the 2004 Summer Olympics as part of the athletics program was held at the Athens Olympic Stadium on August 23 and August 24....	Athens, Greece	DNF	Decathlon
2008	Olympic Games Athletics at the 2008 Summer Olympics Athletics at the 2008 Summer Olympics were held during the last 10 days of the games, from August 15 to August 24, 2008, at the Beijing National Stadium. The Olympic sport of athletics is split into four distinct sets of events: track and field events, road running events, and racewalking...	Beijing Beijing Beijing , also known as Peking , is the capital of the People's Republic of China and one of the most populous cities in the world, with a population of 19,612,368 as of 2010. The city is the country's political, cultural, and educational center, and home to the headquarters for most of China's... , PR China	DNF	Decathlon Athletics at the 2008 Summer Olympics - Men's decathlon -Heat 1:21 August 2008 - 9:20Wind: -0.6 m/s-Heat 2:21 August 2008 - 9:27Wind: -0.2 m/s-Heat 3:21 August 2008 - 9:34Wind: 0.3 m/s-Heat 4:21 August 2008 - 9:41Wind: -0.4 m/s-Heat 5:21 August 2008 - 9:48Wind: -0.1 m/s-Group A:...

Personal Bests

Event	Result	Date	Tournament	Venue	Extra
100 metres 100 metres The 100 metres, or 100-metre dash, is a sprint race in track and field competitions. The shortest common outdoor running distance, it is one of the most popular and prestigious events in the sport of athletics. It has been contested at the Summer Olympics since 1896...	10.65	6 June 2003	Hypo-Meeting Hypo-Meeting The Hypo-Meeting is an annual athletics competition that takes place in the Mösle stadium in Götzis, Austria, held in the spring . The meeting began as a men's only contest in 1975 and a women's competition was added in 1981...	Gotzis Götzis Götzis is a town in the western Austrian state of Vorarlberg, district Feldkirch.The town is well-known for its annual hypo-combined events meeting, the so called Hypo-Meeting, where some of the world's leading decathletes and heptathletes gather in the Mösle stadium...	-0.2 m/s wind
400 metres 400 metres The 400 metres, or 400 metre dash, is a common sprinting event in track and field competitions. It has been featured in the athletics programme at the Summer Olympics since 1896 . On a standard outdoor running track, it is exactly one lap around the track. Runners start in staggered positions and...	47.58	26 August 2003	World Championships 2003 World Championships in Athletics The 9th World Championships in Athletics, under the auspices of the International Association of Athletics Federations, were held from 23 August to 31 August 2003 in the Stade de France in Saint-Denis, Seine-Saint-Denis, France.-Track:...	Paris Saint-Denis
1500 metres 1500 metres The 1,500-metre run is the premier middle distance track event.Aerobic endurance is the biggest factor contributing to success in the 1500 metres but the athlete also requires significant sprint speed.In modern times, the 1,500-metre run has been run at a pace faster than the average person could...	4:35.14	1 January 1995
110 metre hurdles	13.90	30 May 2004	Hypo-Meeting Hypo-Meeting The Hypo-Meeting is an annual athletics competition that takes place in the Mösle stadium in Götzis, Austria, held in the spring . The meeting began as a men's only contest in 1975 and a women's competition was added in 1981...	Gotzis Götzis Götzis is a town in the western Austrian state of Vorarlberg, district Feldkirch.The town is well-known for its annual hypo-combined events meeting, the so called Hypo-Meeting, where some of the world's leading decathletes and heptathletes gather in the Mösle stadium...	0.3 m/s wind
High Jump High jump The high jump is a track and field athletics event in which competitors must jump over a horizontal bar placed at measured heights without the aid of certain devices in its modern most practiced format; auxiliary weights and mounds have been used for assistance; rules have changed over the years....	2.21 m	27 September 2000	Olympics 2000 Summer Olympics The Sydney 2000 Summer Olympic Games or the Millennium Games/Games of the New Millennium, officially known as the Games of the XXVII Olympiad, were an international multi-sport event which was celebrated between 15 September and 1 October 2000 in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia...	Sydney Sydney Sydney is the most populous city in Australia and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney is located on Australia's south-east coast of the Tasman Sea. As of June 2010, the greater metropolitan area had an approximate population of 4.6 million people...
Pole Vault Pole vault Pole vaulting is a track and field event in which a person uses a long, flexible pole as an aid to leap over a bar. Pole jumping competitions were known to the ancient Greeks, as well as the Cretans and Celts...	5.20 m	30 May 2004	Hypo-Meeting Hypo-Meeting The Hypo-Meeting is an annual athletics competition that takes place in the Mösle stadium in Götzis, Austria, held in the spring . The meeting began as a men's only contest in 1975 and a women's competition was added in 1981...	Gotzis Götzis Götzis is a town in the western Austrian state of Vorarlberg, district Feldkirch.The town is well-known for its annual hypo-combined events meeting, the so called Hypo-Meeting, where some of the world's leading decathletes and heptathletes gather in the Mösle stadium...
Long Jump Long jump The long jump is a track and field event in which athletes combine speed, strength, and agility in an attempt to leap as far as possible from a take off point...	7.96 m	21 June 2003	National Championships USA Outdoor Track and Field Championships The USA Outdoor Track and Field Championships is an annual track and field competition organized by USA Track & Field, which serves as the American national championships for the sport...	Palo Alto	1.4 m/s wind
Shot Put Shot put The shot put is a track and field event involving "putting" a heavy metal ball—the shot—as far as possible. It is common to use the term "shot put" to refer to both the shot itself and to the putting action....	17.26	29 June 2008	Olympic Trials United States Olympic Trials (track and field) The United States Olympic Trials for the sport of Track and Field is the quadrennial meet to select the United States representatives at the Olympic Games. Since 1992, the meet has also served as the USA Outdoor Track and Field Championships. Because of the depth of competition in some events,...	Eugene Eugene, Oregon Eugene is the second largest city in the U.S. state of Oregon and the seat of Lane County. It is located at the south end of the Willamette Valley, at the confluence of the McKenzie and Willamette rivers, about east of the Oregon Coast.As of the 2010 U.S...
Javelin Javelin throw The javelin throw is a track and field athletics throwing event where the object to be thrown is the javelin, a spear approximately 2.5 metres in length. Javelin is an event of both the men's decathlon and the women's heptathlon...	66.56 m	9 June 2000		Sarasota
Discus Throw Discus throw The discus throw is an event in track and field athletics competition, in which an athlete throws a heavy disc—called a discus—in an attempt to mark a farther distance than his or her competitors. It is an ancient sport, as evidenced by the 5th century BC Myron statue, Discobolus...	52.18	1 January 2003
Decathlon Decathlon The decathlon is a combined event in athletics consisting of ten track and field events. The word decathlon is of Greek origin . Events are held over two consecutive days and the winners are determined by the combined performance in all. Performance is judged on a points system in each event, not...	8784	22 June 2003	National Championships USA Outdoor Track and Field Championships The USA Outdoor Track and Field Championships is an annual track and field competition organized by USA Track & Field, which serves as the American national championships for the sport...	Palo Alto