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Gary Kinder (born October 25, 1962) is a U.S. Olympian who participated in thedecathlon at the1988 Olympics inSeoul. Kinder qualified for the team by finishing first in the1988 Olympic trials in a PR 8293pts. Kinder finished 12th in the1987 World Championships of track and field with 8030 points, beating teammateRob Muzzio by 13 points.
Kinder attended theUniversity of Mississippi and was coached by head coach Joe Walker. Kinder still[when?] holds the university records in the decathlon (7565 pts.) and javelin (old style-224'3"). He transferred to theUniversity of New Mexico and finished 2nd at the 1985 NCAA championships in the decathlon with 7965 points,[citation needed] still the record for the university.
Kinder first appeared on the U.S. list in 1985 with a #6 ranking, and reached #2 in 1988. He was ranked in the top 10 U.S. decathletes continuously from 1985 through 1990. His finishes at the U.S. championships were:
1997: 12th 7695
Kinder is currently[when?] #96 on the world all-time list in decathlon with his personal best of 8293.[2]
In June 1991, Kinder wassuspended for two years over a doping violation by the governing body ofUSA Track and Field. However, the ruling was immediately overturned by an arbitration panel of USA Track and Field when flaws in the testing protocol were discovered in this case.[citation needed] Kinder went on to compete in the 1992 Olympic Trials as well as two more United States Decathlon Championships.
He coached high school track and field atBrentwood, Tennessee, and founded a company, KinderSport.[citation needed] He also served coaching stints at theUniversity of New Mexico andUniversity of Virginia.
