John Smith (sprinter)

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John Smith
Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Height188 cm (6 ft 2 in)
Weight83 kg (183 lb)
Sport
SportAthletics
Event(s)Sprint, long jump
ClubSouthern California Striders
Achievements and titles
Personal bests100 y – 9.4 (1971)
220 y – 20.7 (1970)
400 m – 44.2 (1971)
440 y – 44.5 WR (1971)
LJ – 7.43 m (1968)[1][2]
Medal record
Representing the  United States
Pan American Games
Gold medal – first place 1971 Cali 400 m
Gold medal – first place 1971 Cali 4×400 m relay

John Walton Smith (born August 5, 1950) is a former

metrification
in the sport. Contemporary athletes rarely run or are timed officially for the extra 2.34 meters to equal 440 yards.

Smith came as a favorite to the 1972 Summer Olympics, but injured a hamstring in the 400 m final and failed to finish the race.[1]

After retiring from competition, he became a sprint coach, training

Florence Griffith-Joyner. He also coaches/coached Norwegian sprinter Jaysuma Saidy Ndure, Nigerian sprinter Blessing Okagbare, Commonwealth Games Champion, and English Gardner
, NCAA Champion at Oregon and US Outdoor Champion.

Smith ran for

UCLA, forming a powerhouse team. They won the NCAA 4x440/400 relay championships four years in a row, 1969-72. Smith won the individual 440 in 1971 and 400 in 1972 and both years UCLA won the overall team championship.[3]
Both Collett and Smith qualified for the 1972 Olympic team in the 400. Following his athletic career, he coached UCLA for 17 years before branching off to the HSI team.

Athletes coached by John Smith

References

Wikimedia Commons has media related to John Smith (athlete).
  1. ^ a b John Smith Archived 2016-10-05 at the Wayback Machine. sports-reference.com
  2. ^ John Smith. trackfield.brinkster.net
  3. ^ a b c John Smith. UCLA
  4. ^ USA Track & Field - USA Outdoor Track & Field Champions. Usatf.org. Retrieved on 2016-07-15.
  5. ^ HSI John Smith Drills Session with Jon Drummond. Speedendurance.com (2008-01-12). Retrieved on 2016-07-15.
  6. ^ Layden, Tim. Ace of Clubs. hsi.net
  7. YouTube
  8. ^ "California State Meet Results - 1915 to present".
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