Héctor Thomas

Héctor Tomás Thomas Martínez (10 October 1938 – 23 December 2008) was a decathlete from Venezuela.

Héctor Thomas

Thomas in 1998
Personal information
Full name	Héctor Tomás Thomas Martínez
Born	(1938-10-10)10 October 1938 El Callao, Bolívar, Venezuela
Died	23 December 2008(2008-12-23) (aged 70) Caracas, Distrito Capital, Venezuela
Height	178 cm (5 ft 10 in)
Weight	80 kg (176 lb)
Sport
Country	Venezuela
Sport	Athletics
Event	Decathlon
Achievements and titles
Olympic finals	1960, 1964
Medal record Representing  Venezuela Pan American Games 1963 São Paulo 4×100 m 1963 São Paulo Decathlon 1967 Winnipeg Decathlon Central American and Caribbean Games 1962 Kingston Pentathlon 1962 Kingston Shot put Bolivarian Games 1961 Barranquilla Pentathlon 1961 Barranquilla Shot put 1961 Barranquilla Discus throw 1961 Barranquilla Javelin throw 1961 Barranquilla High jump 1965 Quito Long jump 1965 Quito Pentathlon 1965 Quito Pole vault 1965 Quito Javelin throw 1965 Quito Shot put 1965 Quito Discus throw 1970 Maracaibo Pole vault 1970 Maracaibo Shot put 1970 Maracaibo Decathlon 1973 Panama City Pole vault Ibero-American Games 1960 Santiago Decathlon

Career

He won more than ten medals in various athletics events at the Bolivarian Games from 1961 to 1973, as well as three medals at the Pan American Games in 1963 and 1967. He competed in the decathlon at the 1960 and 1964 Olympics, achieving his best result of 20th place in 1960. In 1998, he was inducted into the Venezuelan Sports Hall of Fame. He died of cancer at the age of 70.^[1]

International competitions

Thomas at the 1960 Olympics

^[2]

Year	Competition	Venue	Position	Event	Notes
Representing  Venezuela
1959	Central American and Caribbean Games	Caracas, Venezuela	3rd	Decathlon	2540 pts
	Pan American Games	Chicago, United States	4th	Decathlon	5625 pts
1960	Olympic Games	Rome, Italy	20th	Decathlon	5753 pts
	Ibero-American Games	Santiago, Chile	1st	Decathlon	6928 pts
1961	South American Championships	Lima, Peru	3rd	Shot put	14.58 m
			7th	Decathlon	5544 pts
	Bolivarian Games	Barranquilla, Colombia	3rd	High jump	1.75 m
			2nd	Shot put	13.93 m
			2nd	Discus throw	45.42 m
			2nd	Javelin throw	66.43 m
			1st	Pentathlon	3161 pts
1962	Central American and Caribbean Games	Kingston, Jamaica	2nd	Shot put	14.46 m
			4th	Javelin throw	61.17 m
			1st	Pentathlon	3212 pts
	Ibero-American Games	Madrid, Spain	4th	Shot put	14.57 m
			6th	Javelin throw	59.45 m
			1st	Decathlon	6630 pts
1963	Pan American Games	São Paulo, Brazil	2nd	4 × 100 m relay	40.71 m
			3rd	Decathlon	6751 pts
	South American Championships	Cali, Colombia	1st	Long jump	7.22 m
			1st	Javelin throw	64.79 m
			1st	Decathlon	6825 pts
1964	Olympic Games	Tokyo, Japan	–	Decathlon	DNF
1965	South American Championships	Rio de Janeiro, Brazil	2nd	100 m	10.5 s
			2nd	Long jump	7.24 m
			1st	Decathlon	6555 pts
	Bolivarian Games	Quito, Ecuador	3rd	4 × 100 m relay	41.6 s
			3rd	Pole vault	4.10 m
			1st	Long jump	7.48 m
			2nd	Shot put	14.12 m
			2nd	Discus throw	42.57 m
			3rd	Javelin throw	60.56 m
			1st	Pentathlon	3376 pts
1966	Central American and Caribbean Games	San Juan, Puerto Rico	6th	Pole vault	3.85 m
			5th	Long jump	7.31 m
			11th	Javelin throw	56.90 m
1967	Pan American Games	Winnipeg, Canada	2nd	Decathlon	7312 pts
1969	South American Championships	Quito, Ecuador	9th (h)	100 m	10.8 s
			1st	Decathlon	6720 pts
1970	Central American and Caribbean Games	Panama City, Panama	3rd	Decathlon	6918 pts
	Bolivarian Games	Maracaibo, Venezuela	1st	Pole vault	4.15 m
			1st	Shot put	14.91 m
			5th	Discus throw	41.40 m
			5th	Javelin throw	54.22 m
			1st	Decathlon	7091 pts
1971	South American Championships	Lima, Peru	1st	Decathlon	6880 pts
1973	Bolivarian Games	Panama City, Panama	2nd	Pole vault	4.30 m