As a discus thrower he qualified for the 1984 Olympic Games finishing 15th overall. Domestically, he threw the 2nd best UK discus performance of 1980, 3rd best in 1981 and the top UK discus performances in 1982 to 1986 inclusive.[7] In 1986 he was also the national discus champion for the first and only time. His personal best of 65.16m makes him the second best British thrower after Perriss Wilkins.[8]
At the 1984 Olympics Slaney is remembered for carrying his fiancee Mary Decker from the track after she lay stricken at trackside during the 3,000m final, having tripped over the bare feet of Zola Budd. Decker and Slaney married on 1 January 1985; their daughter Ashley was born on 30 May 1986.[9] He represented England in the discus event, at the 1986 Commonwealth Games in Edinburgh, Scotland.[10][11]
After he retired in 1986 Slaney became a businessman. He also works on restoring antique airplanes[12] living with his family on a 55-acre (220,000 m2) ranch in Eugene, Oregon, US. They have three Weimaraner dogs.[13]
^"1986 Athletes". Team England. Archived from the original on 21 August 2019. Retrieved 13 April 2020.
^"Athletes and results". Commonwealth Games Federation. Archived from the original on 2 October 2019. Retrieved 13 April 2020.
^Reed, Susan (17 October 1994). "Going the Distance". People. Vol. 42, no. 16. Archived from the original on 10 January 2011. Retrieved 8 October 2010.