Jenner placed third in the decathlon at the 1972 U.S. Olympic trials. She finished in tenth place at the 1972 Munich games. Because she did so well in getting to the Olympics, she chose focus her time almost entirely on training. She sold insurance when not training. In the years before professionalism was allowed in athletics, this kind of full-time training was unusual. During that time, she spent eight hours a day at the San Jose City College track. San Jose at the time was a main place for training Olympic athletes. Millard Hampton, Andre Phillips, John Powell, Mac Wilkins, Al Feuerbach and others also trained there. In 1974 and 1976, Jenner was the American champion in the decathlon.