Guinn Smith
| Medal record | ||
|---|---|---|
| Men's athletics
| ||
Representing the  United States
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| Olympic Games | ||
 |
1948 London | Pole vault
|
Owen Guinn Smith (May 2, 1920 – January 20, 2004) was an American
Born in
UC Berkeley, the university he wanted to attend, already had a strong high jumping team, so he took up pole vaulting. He won the NCAA championships in 1941, the year before he graduated as a history major. During the remainder of World War II
, Guinn Smith served as an air force pilot in Asia.
Smith, the 1947 national pole vault champion, was sent to the 1948 Olympics in London. During a rainy competition, Smith took the gold in his last attempt for 4.30 m (14 ft 11⁄4 in).
He died at age 83 in
San Francisco of emphysema
.
References
- ^ Yollin, Patricia (2004-01-24). "Owen Guinn Smith -- WWII pilot, gold medalist in 1948". San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved 2010-07-11.
External links
- Evans, Hilary; Gjerde, Arild; Heijmans, Jeroen; Mallon, Bill; et al. "Guinn Smith". Olympics at Sports-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on 2020-04-17.
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