Bruce Jenner
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| Medal record | |||
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| Men’s Athletics | |||
Competitor for  United States |
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| Olympic Games | |||
| Gold | Montreal 1976 | Decathlon | |
William Bruce Jenner (born October 28, 1949, in Mount Kisco, New York) is a U.S. track athlete, known principally for winning the decathlon in the 1976 Summer Olympics.
Bruce Jenner attended Newtown High School in Newtown, Connecticut, transferring from Sleepy Hollow High School in Sleepy Hollow, New York. (Years later, the stadium there was to be named after him, but following an argument where Jenner would not attend fundraisers or be involved in the naming process, the stadium is now called Blue and Gold Stadium.) Jenner earned a football scholarship and attended Graceland College (now Graceland University), but a knee injury forced him to stop playing football and switch to the decathlon. He was mentored by Graceland's track coach L.D. Weldon, who was the first to recognize Jenner's potential and encouraged him to pursue decathlon. Jenner debuted in the decathlon at the Drake Relays in 1970- placing sixth.
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[edit] Olympic career
Jenner placed third in the 1972 U.S. Olympic trials and finished in an impressive tenth place at the 1972 Munich games. He became an American champion in the event and won a gold medal at the 1976 Summer Olympics, setting a world record of 8,634 points. Jenner was handed a large American flag from a bystander in the audience as he spontaneously ran a celebratory victory lap, a gesture that has been emulated frequently since that time by athletes in other sports from countries around the world (and also by John Belushi in a Saturday Night Live commercial parody). He was the 1976 recipient of the James E. Sullivan Award as the top amateur athlete in the United States. Jenner was also the Associated Press Male Athlete of the Year in 1976. He was inducted into the Olympic Hall of Fame in 1986 and the Bay Area Hall of Fame and Connecticut Sports Hall of Fame in 1994.
[edit] Jenner's 1976 Olympic Scores[1]
| Event | 100 Meters | Long Jump | Shot Put | High Jump | 400 meters | 110 meter hurdles | Discus Throw | Pole Vault | Javelin throw | 1500 meter |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 10.96 seconds | 7.22m | 15.35m | 2.03m | 47.51 seconds | 14.84 seconds | 50.04m | 4.80m | 68.52m | 4:12.6 |
[edit] Reality TV appearances
After his Olympic success, the youthful Jenner appeared with Grits Gresham in an episode of ABC's The American Sportsman. The program featured Gresham engaging in hunting, fishing, or shooting in exotic spots with well-known celebrities.
Since 2002, Jenner has appeared as himself on a variety of game shows and reality TV programs. In January 2002 he participated in an episode of the American series of The Weakest Link (US) featuring Olympian athletes. In February and March 2003, he was part of the cast of the American series of I'm a Celebrity... Get Me Out of Here!, and made a cameo on a season three episode of The Apprentice that originally aired in May 2005. He was partnered with Tai Babilonia for Skating with Celebrities that aired January-March 2006 (they were eliminated during the fifth of seven episodes).
In late 2007 Jenner, along with wife Kris Jenner, stepdaughters Kim, Kourtney, Khloe and stepson Robert (from Kris' marriage to attorney Robert Kardashian), and daughters Kylie and Kendall, starred in the E! reality series Keeping Up with the Kardashians; the show was renewed for a second season to air in 2008.[2] He was also a guest judge on "Pet Star" on Animal Planet.
[edit] Other appearances
Following his Olympic success, Jenner appeared on the front of Wheaties brand breakfast cereal as a "Wheaties champion". Of several hundred athletes who have been so featured, Jenner is one of seven Wheaties spokesmen. He was invited to the White House to meet with President Gerald R. Ford who autographed a political cartoon that featured the pair.
In 1980, Jenner made his acting debut in the film Can't Stop the Music which has become a cult classic over the years since its release. The disco-era comedy about the singing group The Village People was a notorious flop, though, and Jenner never made another theatrical film. However, he did appear in a few TV movies. He also guest-starred in a handful of episodes of the 80s TV police drama CHiPs as Officer Steve McLeish (subsitituting for star Erik Estrada when he was in a contract dispute with the studio).
[edit] Personal life
His company, Bruce Jenner Aviation, sells aircraft to executives and corporations.[3]
Jenner is widely known to have struggled with dyslexia -- he appeared on the sitcom Silver Spoons where he revealed his condition to the Stratton family -- and after retiring from sports, built a successful career as a motivational speaker and television sports commentator (making an appearance on the series Learn To Read). In 2006, Jenner competed on the FOX reality show Skating with Celebrities partnered with former U.S. and World Champion pairs figure skater Tai Babilonia; they finished third out of six couples.
His first marriage to Chrystie Crownover (1972 to 1980) produced two children, daughter Casey Jenner and first son Burt Jenner. His other sons, Brandon and Brody (with second wife Linda Thompson, to whom he was married from 1981 to 1983), appeared in their own reality show The Princes of Malibu, which featured them living with their stepfather David Foster. Brody has also been featured on the MTV series The Hills.
Jenner is currently married to Kris (née Houghton, and previously married to the late Robert Kardashian) with whom he had two daughters Kendall and Kylie, and is also raising stepdaughers Kim, Kourtney and Khloe and stepson Robert (all of whom are offspring from Robert Kardashian). His stepdaughter Kourtney appeared on the E! network's reality series Filthy Rich: Cattle Drive. Currently, Jenner and Kris can be seen with offspring Kim, Kourtney, Khloe, Robert, Kendall Jenner and Kylie Jenner, on the E! network's reality series Keeping Up with the Kardashians.
[edit] See also
[edit] References
Bruce Jenner, Olympic Champion
[edit] External links
- Wheaties spokesperson
- Bruce Jenner's U.S. Olympic Team bio
- Official site
- http://www.myspace.com/officialbrucejenner
| Records | ||
|---|---|---|
Preceded by Nikolay Avilov |
Men's Decathlon World Record Holder August 10, 1975 – May 15, 1980 |
Succeeded by Daley Thompson |
| Awards | ||
| Preceded by Fred Lynn |
Associated Press Male Athlete of the Year 1976 |
Succeeded by Steve Cauthen |
| Preceded by Tim Shaw |
James E. Sullivan Award 1976 |
Succeeded by John Naber |
| Sporting positions | ||
Preceded by Ryszard Skowronek |
Decathlon Best Year Performance 1975 – 1976 |
Succeeded by Aleksandr Grebenyuk |
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