medaltemplates article_title name birth_date
men 's athletics rick wanamaker
 rick wanamaker 1948-03-20
rick wanamaker

rick wanamaker -lrb- born march 20 , 1948 in marengo , iowa -rrb- is an american track and basketball athlete , known principally for winning the decathlon in the 1971 pan american games and for blocking a shot against lew alcindor in the 1969 ncaa national basketball semi-finals .
rick wanamaker attended iowa valley high school in marengo , where he played basketball .
he earned a scholarship and attended drake university in des moines , iowa , where he studied advertising .
as a freshman , he wanted to participate in the drake relays , and chose the decathlon .
