Mike Gonzales

Mike Gonzales (born March 13, 1964) is a former United States decathlete.

Gonzales attended Bishop Montgomery High School in Redondo Beach, California, where he played both football and track and field. He was inducted into the school's Athletic Hall of Fame in 2013.^[1]

Gonzales was offered multiple football scholarships to play at top universities. He accepted a full scholarship in Track and Field from University of Southern California with the intention of becoming an Olympic athlete. At USC Gonzales was a standout in decathlon, where he still holds the USC record.^[2] He competed and won the gold medal in decathlon at the 1987 Pan American Games in Indiana.

Gonzales tried four times to make the USA Olympic Team in Decathlon (1984 1988, 1992,1996) but was plagued by injury in each attempt.

Gonzales was recruited by Olympian Liston Bochette to participate in the 1998 Winter Olympics representing Puerto Rico in the four-man bobsled team, but didn't actually compete. In the 2002 Salt Lake City Olympics Gonzales was pulled out of the two-man bobsled team, because he did not meet Puerto Rico's eligibility requirement of having lived in Puerto Rico for at least three years.^[3]

Gonzales later became a competitive amateur golfer.^[4] He resides in Southern California and is the Director of Sales and Marketing for a web-based marketing company.

Honors and Awards

• 2014 USC Track and Field Hall of Fame; Heritage Award recipient
• 2013 Bishop Montgomery High School, Athletic Hall of Fame
• 1987 Gold Medalist, Pan American Games Decathlon (7649)
• 1984 USC All-American, Decathlon
• 1984 Current USC Track and Field Record Holder, Decathlon (8,022)

Education

• Bishop Montgomery High School, Redondo Beach (1982)
• University of Southern California, BS in Communications(full scholarship, track and field)^[1]

Personal life

He married Kelly Costa in 1991. The couple had one child, Tanner.

References