Fred Samara

Fred Samara won the AAU decathlon championship in 1975. At the NCAAs, competing for Penn, he was runner-up in 1971. He also finished fifth in the 1974 Universiade decathlon. Samara set an American record for the indoor pentathlon in 1974, and was a five-time champion at the Penn Relays. He earned a bachelor of science degree in economics from Pennsylvania’s Wharton School of Business and Finance in 1973.

In 1979 Samara was named head track coach at his alma mater. He also served as head cross-country coach in 1992-98 and 2004-07. His teams won over 40 Ivy League and Heptagonal titles, and six Ivy League triple crowns. He was named the Mid-Atlantic Region Indoor Male Coach of the Year in 2004, 2007, 2011 and 2012, on the heels of being the Mid-Atlantic Outdoor Male Coach of the Year in 2001-02 and 2011-2013.

Personal Bests: 100 – 10.3 (1975); 400 – 48.6 (1974); 110H – 14.1 (1975); HJ – 1.97 (6-5½) (1974); Decathlon – 7,937 (1975).