Robert Harold "Hal" Smallwood (March 24, 1915 – April 20, 1985) was an American
sprinter. He was national champion in the
400 meters in 1936 and competed at the
1936 Summer Olympics, but withdrew after the quarterfinals due to
appendicitis.
Smallwood won the national (
AAU) championship later that summer, defeating
Jimmy LuValle and world record holder
Archie Williams in a close race in 47.3.[5] At the
U.S. Olympic Trials a week after the AAU meet he placed second behind Williams, running an estimated 46.7; he qualified for the
Summer Olympics in
Berlin.[6]: 80
En route to the Olympics Smallwood suffered an attack of
appendicitis, which put his participation in the Games in doubt. Eventually, he was able to run in the heats and the quarter-finals, advancing from both; he had to withdraw before the semi-finals as his condition worsened.[2] He underwent an emergency
appendectomy in Berlin, but remained in weak health; complications, including
pleurisy, nearly killed him in February 1937.[2]
Smallwood eventually recovered, and was named co-captain of the USC track team for the 1937–38 season.[7] He died in
Oxnard, California in April 1985.[1]