An all-around athlete at the University of Colorado, Toomey won four National AAU pentathlon titles before turning to the decathlon. A good long jumper and 400-meter runner, Toomey worked hard on the field events and won five straight National AAU decathlon titles.
Following his Olympic victory in the1968 decathlon, he won the 1969 Sullivan Award as the nation's top amateur athlete. That same year, he set a world decathlon record with a score that lasted nearly three years. He also briefly held the world decathlon record in 1966 and in 1967 was the Pan-American Games champion.
Toomey is now involved in various sports promotions. He was elected to the U.S. Olympic Hall of Fame in 1984.
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