LTJG Thomas Slattery has been named the 2024 Coast Guard Elite Male Athlete of the Year for his accomplishments as a long-distance runner, which included competing in his second U.S. Olympic Marathon Trials last year after earning a ranking of 30th in the U.S.
Slattery, a full-time analyst with the Intelligence Coordination Center (ICC), put his resilience and grit on full display at the trials where grueling conditions led a 25% drop out rate among the nation’s top marathoners. He persevered to finish 125th, demonstrating the endurance and determination emblematic of the Coast Guard. In addition, he excelled in cross country, as Team Captain of the All-Navy Cross Country Team and the team’s top performer. He also competed against professional athletes at the USA Track and Field Cross Country Championships 10k, finishing 27th overall. His commitment to excellence was further highlighted by victories such as winning the Office of Naval Intelligence Turkey Trot 5k, underscoring his dominance across various race formats.
A runner up for this award in 2023, Slattery said he was honored to receive the recognition and thrilled to be representing the Coast Guard, which he joined as a reservist in 2021.
“It’s been a dream come true,” he said.
Slattery grew up in Long Island and followed his two older siblings into running in middle school. He discovered he had a talent for every event from the 800-meter run up to the 5K in high school and went on to run NCAA Division I track and cross country at Fordham University. There he set records in the 5000 meters and won the Atlantic 10 Conference title in the 3000 meters. “I fell in love with running in college,” he said. “The great thing was whatever I put into it; I got back.”
Deciding on a career was more challenging. When Slattery was a senior at Fordham, his track coach suggested the leadership and discipline that made him a standout runner, might make him a perfect fit for the Coast Guard. But as a business major, Slattery still wanted to see what he could do in finance – and as an athlete.
After graduating in 2018, he took a job as an analyst at Jet Blue in New York City, then as a commercial credit analyst. He worked part-time so he could squeeze in runs during his off hours and got up to 110 miles a week. He also began running with the New York Athletic Club, which elevated his training. “All the knowledge from the guys I was running with really helped me transition,” he said. “They were all talking about trials and it pushed me.” He qualified for the 2020 U.S. Olympic Marathon trials, and placed 152 out of 175 men, excited by how much he’d improved and looking forward to future races.
Then the pandemic hit. Races were cancelled. Slattery got Covid and had to stop training. Working from home also underscored how miserable he was at his job. “I was dreading going back,” he said. “My analyst position was unrewarding, and I just thought, ‘what am I doing?’ I had spent two years on my running goals. Now I needed to think about my profession.”
“One of the things I realized,” Slattery added, “was that at work I missed the team factor.” That made him take another look at the Coast Guard, where he discovered what he now calls a hidden gem - the five-week Reserve Officer Candidate Initiation (ROCI), which is similar to OCS, to become a reservist. He passed the course and was sworn in as a reserve officer in June 2021.
It turned out to be one of the best decisions he’s ever made. “After commissioning, I volunteered to deploy to New Orleans to handle resources and logistics with Hurricane Ida,” he said. “I was working 14-hour days and loving it.”
But he was also still juggling his part-time job, as well as training to run the New York Marathon in the professional field that November. Something had to give, and Slattery ended up skipping the marathon – although he still managed to attend it working incident management for the Coast Guard. Since then, he’s been serving active-duty at Coast Guard headquarters, with the time to train and fit in another Olympic trials race. He also returned to the pro field at the NYC Marathon in 2023 – finishing 20th overall while racing for the Service this time.
“The great thing about being in the Coast Guard is that you feel like you’re part of something that has a lot of impact,” Slattery says. “At the same time, it’s a small organization, so there’s a lot of latitude to do things. I’ve had a ton of responsibility.”
Slattery plans to continue racing but has slowed down for the moment. He and his wife now have a 14-month-old daughter, Sofia, and he’s getting ready for his first afloat tour, where he’ll be spending six weeks in the Arctic.
“These days, my long runs have been replaced by long walks with my wife and daughter,” he said. “Sometimes, I’ll go run a couple of miles on my own later, though. It’s always fun to see I can still crush a workout.”