Floyd George Smart (April 1, 1894 – November 15, 1955) was an American
track and field athlete. Smart was United States champion in the
440 yd hurdles in 1917 and 1919 and in the
long jump in 1919.
Smart won the
440 yd hurdles at the 1917
Penn Relays, overtaking
world record holder
Billy Meanix on the final straight,[8][10][11] although 2 ft 6 in (76.2 cm) hurdles, rather than the usual 3 ft (91.4 cm) hurdles, were used in that race.[12] Later that year, Smart won his first title at the
national championships, defeating both Meanix and the previous year's champion,
Walter Hummel; his winning time of 54.8 was only 0.2 seconds off the world record and equaled Hummel's meeting record.[13][14] In 1918 Smart underwent
military officer training at
Camp Grant and qualified as a lieutenant; like many other top athletes, he missed that year's national championships due to
World War I.[15][16]
Smart returned to competition in 1919, and was favored to regain the national 440 yd hurdles title.[17] He won the event in 55.6, ahead of Meanix;[18] he won a second title in the
long jump with a jump of 22 ft 7+1⁄4 in (6.88 m), overtaking his Chicago A.A. clubmate
Sherman Landers in the final round.[18][19][20]
In June 1920 Smart won the 440 yd hurdles in 55.6 at the Midwestern Tryouts, a qualifying meet for the
United States Olympic Trials of that year.[21] At the final Trials, however, he only made it past the heats as a fastest loser, and was eliminated in the semi-finals.[22] He was named to the
Olympic team,[23] but only as an alternate, and did not get to run at the Olympics; instead, he represented the United States in meets against the national teams of Sweden and France (in Paris) and the
British Empire (in London). He won the 400 m/440 yd hurdles in both of these meets.[24][25][26]
Smart died at his home in
Glen Ellyn, Illinois in November 1955. He was survived by wife, two sons and a daughter.[2]