Lance Deal

Lance Deal

Lance Earl Deal (born August 21, 1961 in Riverton, Wyoming) is a former American athlete who won a silver medal in the hammer throw in the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta, Georgia. He also competed in the 1988, 1992, and 2000 Summer Olympics.

In the hammer throw finals at the 1996 Olympic Games, only the top eight competitors after three throws were awarded three additional throws. Deal fouled his first two throws; his third equaled the eighth longest throw of the competition. However, he was only in ninth place, because the other competitor had a second legal throw. The announcer initially stated that, on the basis of that tiebreaker, Deal was out of the rest of the competition. The officials corrected the error, however; IAAF rules do not call for breaking ties in this case. So Deal advanced, and on his sixth and final throw, won the silver medal behind Balazs Kiss of Hungary.

Deal graduated from Natrona County High School in Casper, Wyoming where he earned All-State Honors in football, wrestling, and track. He went on to graduate from Montana State University in Bozeman, Montana. He is the throws coach (for discus, hammer, javelin, and shot put) at the University of Oregon. Deal is married and has one daughter.

Deal was inducted into the Oregon Sports Hall of Fame on September 25, 2007. He was also inducted into the Wyoming Sports Hall of Fame in 2002.