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
Balázs Kiss of Hungary. Later in the season, he threw to win the
IAAF Grand Prix Final. 24 years later, in 2020, that throw was ratified as the
American Masters M35 record. That mark would also be a
World Record if it is ever ratified by
WMA. 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 currently works at the University of Oregon as the Director of Track & Field Venues and Program Support. He was the throws coach (for
discus,
hammer,
javelin, and
shot put) at the
University of Oregon until 2010. 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. In 2014, he was elected into the
National Track and Field Hall of Fame. ==Achievements==