Decker Slaney Wins, Tells of Mugging Try

Mary Decker Slaney, six days after fighting off a mugging attempt, won the women’s mile in 4:22.01 during the Wanamaker Millrose Games Friday night at Madison Square Garden, missing her world indoor record by 1.51 seconds,

She revealed after the race that last Saturday in Eugene, Ore., she fought off a robbery attempt in which her life was threatened.

Later in the evening, Jimmy Howard of the Pacific Coast Club broke the American indoor record in the men’s high jump, clearing 7 feet 8 inches. Making the height on his third attempt, Howard erased the mark of 7-7 3/4 set by Jeff Woodard in 1981 at New York.

Both Howard and Sweden’s Patrick Sjoberg, who passed at 7-8, failed in three attempts to clear a world indoor best of 7-9 3/4. The world indoor mark is 7-9, held by Carlo Thranhardt of West Germany.

In other events, Eamonn Coghlan of Ireland won the Wanamaker Mile, quadruple Olympic gold medalist Carl Lewis took the long jump and Diane Dixon upset triple gold medalist Valerie Brisco-Hooks in the women’s 400-meter run.

Of the robbery attempt, Decker Slaney said a man “in his mid-20s to 30s” came up to her on a bicycle, and the next thing “I knew I was on the ground and he had his hand over my face.”

She said the man threatened to kill her and wanted to steal the jewelry she was wearing, but she successfully fought him off although she suffered bruises on her left thigh in the struggle.

Decker Slaney said she ran under tremendous emotional strain from the incident.

“The incident took an emotional toll on me that was worse than anything physical that happened,” she said. “It was one of the most frightening things that ever happened to me. I felt that I didn’t have the emotional spark here tonight. I felt that I was just plodding along.

“I felt lucky to get away unharmed.”

She said she hadn’t discussed the incident until Friday night because she “didn’t want any publicity. I just wanted to come here and race.”

It was the second race since her controversial fall after colliding with Zola Budd in the finals of the 3,000 meters at the Summer Olympics.

Decker Slaney, who led from the start, received a mixture of cheers and boos from the sellout crowd of 18,328 when she was introduced before the race, but she got a mild ovation during her victory lap.

Coghlan won a record-tying sixth Wanamaker Mile in 3:53.82. The Irishman took the lead with 1 1/2 laps to go and finished ahead of countryman Ray Flynn. John Walker of New Zealand was third.

Coghlan holds the world indoor record of 3:49.78, which he set in February 1983.

Lewis won the long jump at 27-10 3/4, was well off his world indoor record of 28-10 1/2, which he set at last year’s Millrose Games. He was booed by the sellout crowd after passing on his fifth and sixth jumps.

It had appeared that Dixon, who shot past Brisco-Hooks at the final turn in the race, had broken her own American indoor record in the event, but the timer malfunctioned and her time of 52.9 recorded on a hand watch could not be used as an American record.

Her American record, which she set last February, stands at 53.17.