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American sprinter
John Smith
Born (1950-08-05 ) August 5, 1950 (age 73)
Los Angeles, California , U.S. Height 188 cm (6 ft 2 in) Weight 83 kg (183 lb) Sport Athletics Event(s) Sprint,
long jump Club Southern California Striders Personal bests 100 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]
John Walton Smith (born August 5, 1950) is a former
American
athlete , who competed in the sprints events during his career. He is best known for winning the 400 m event at the
1971 Pan American Games . He remains the
world record holder for the 440 yard dash at 44.5 seconds.
[3] He set the record while winning the
USA Outdoor Track and Field Championships on June 26, 1971 while running for the
Southern California Striders .
[4] The record has stood since then due to
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
Maurice Greene and
Ato Boldon amongst others. At the time, his team called
HSI
[5] (standing for Hudson Smith International) was the top sprint team in the world.
[3]
[6] He coached
Carmelita Jeter ,
[7] who held the second fastest 100 m time after
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
Fremont High School in Los Angeles, finishing fifth in the 440 at the
CIF California State Meet two years in a row, 1967-8.
[8] He also won the City Championships in the long jump. In 1967, he finished one place behind
Wayne Collett from
Gardena High School , one year his senior. He would next join Collett at
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
Steve Lewis 3 Olympic gold medals, 1 silver,
World Junior Record 400 meters since 1988
Marie-José Pérec
France 3 Olympic gold medals, 2 World Championship gold medals
Kevin Young Olympic gold medal, 1 World Championship gold medal, world record 400 meters hurdles since 1992
Danny Everett Olympic gold and bronze medals
Michael Marsh 2 Olympic gold medals, 1 silver, 1 World Championship gold medal
Quincy Watts 2 Olympic gold medals, 2 World Championship medals, 1 gold
Mike Powell 2 Olympic silver medals, 2 World Championship gold medals, world record in the long jump since 1991
Maurice Greene 4 Olympic medals, 2 gold, 5 World Championship gold medals, World record 100 metres
Inger Miller 1 Olympic gold medal, 5 World Championship medals, 3 gold but 1 disqualified due to Marion Jones
David Neville 2 Olympic medals, 1 gold
Lawrence Johnson Olympic silver medal
Hadi Soua'an Al-Somaily
Saudi Arabia Olympic silver medal
Ato Boldon
Trinidad and Tobago 4 Olympic medals, 4 World Championship medals, 1 gold
Dalilah Muhammad Olympic Gold Medal, 2 World Championship Silver Medals
Jon Drummond 2 Olympic medals, 1 gold, 2 World Championship gold medals
Allen Johnson Olympic gold medal, 5 World Championship medals, 4 gold
English Gardner 1 Olympic Gold Medal, 2 World Championship Silver Medals
Dawn Harper 2 Olympic medals, 1 gold, 2 World Championship Medals
Richard Thompson
Trinidad and Tobago 3 Olympic medals, 1 World Championship medal
Emmanuel Callender
Trinidad and Tobago 2 Olympic medals, 1 World Championship medal
Tasha Danvers
United Kingdom 1 Olympic medal
Kristi Castlin 1 Olympic Bronze Medal
Cathy Freeman
Australia trained with HSI for a short period of time. 2 Olympic medals, 1 gold, 2 World Championship gold medals
Torri Edwards 1 Olympic medal disqualified due to
Marion Jones , 4 World Championship medals, 2 gold
Jason Richardson Olympic silver medal, World Championship gold medal
Christian Coleman 2 World Championship Silver Medals, World Indoor Championship Gold Medal, World Indoor Record Holder for the
60 meter dash
Regina Jacobs 2 World Championship silver medals
Anju Bobby George
India first World Championship medal for India
Jehue Gordon
Trinidad and Tobago 1 World Championship Gold Medal
Khalifa St. Fort
Trinidad and Tobago 1 World Championship Bronze Medal
Dezerea Bryant 1 World Championship Silver Medal
Michael Norman 2 World Junior Championship Gold Medals, World Indoor 400m Record Holder
Leonard Scott World Indoor Championship Gold Medal
Martial Mbandjock
France
Pilar McShine
Trinidad and Tobago
Jaysuma Saidy Ndure
Norway
Mohammed Shaween
Saudi Arabia
Kenneth Ferguson
Jason Pyrah
Marie-Josée Ta Lou
References
1951 :
B. Brown ,
M. Whitfield ,
J. Voight ,
H. Maiocco (
USA )
1955 :
J. Mashburn ,
L. Spurrier ,
J. Lea ,
L. Jones (
USA )
1959 :
Mel Spence ,
G. Kerr ,
Mal Spence ,
B. Ince (
BWI )
1963 :
O. Cassell ,
J. Johnson ,
R. Edmunds ,
E. Young (
USA )
1967 :
V. Matthews ,
E. Taylor ,
E. Stinson ,
L. Evans (
USA )
1971 :
J. Smith ,
D. Alexander ,
F. Newhouse ,
T. Turner (
USA )
1975 :
H. Frazier ,
R. Taylor ,
M. Peoples ,
R. Ray (
USA )
1979 :
T. Darden ,
M. Peoples ,
H. Frazier ,
J. Walker (
USA )
1983 :
A. Babers ,
M. Bradley ,
J. Rolle ,
E. Carey (
USA )
1987 :
R. Pierre ,
K. Robinzine ,
R. Haley ,
M. Rowe (
USA )
1991 :
H. Herrera ,
A. Pavó ,
J. Valentín ,
L. Martínez (
CUB )
1995 :
J. Crusellas ,
N. Téllez ,
O. Mena ,
I. García (
CUB )
1999 :
D. Clarke ,
M. McDonald ,
D. McFarlane ,
G. Haughton (
JAM )
2003 :
D. Clarke ,
L. Spence ,
S. Ayre ,
M. Campbell (
JAM )
2007 :
A. Williams ,
A. Moncur ,
M. Mathieu ,
C. Brown (
BAH )
2011 :
N. Ruíz ,
R. Acea ,
O. Cisneros ,
W. Collazo (
CUB )
2015 :
R. Quow ,
J. Solomon ,
E. Mayers ,
M. Cedenio (
TTO )
2019 :
J. Perlaza ,
D. Palomeque ,
J. Solís ,
A. Zambrano (
COL )
2023 :
L. Carvalho ,
M. Lima ,
D. Hernandes ,
L. Vilar (
BRA )
1876-1979Amateur Athletic Union 1980-1992The Athletics Congress 1992 onwardsUSA Track & Field Notes
Note 1: In 1888 both the NAAAA and the AAU held championships
OT: The 1920, 1928, 1932, and since 1992, championships incorporated the Olympic Trials, otherwise held as a discrete event.
2020 OT: The 2020 Olympic Trials were delayed and held in 2021 due to the
COVID-19 pandemic .
Qualification Men's track and road athletes Men's field athletes Women's track athletes Women's field athletes Coaches
International National People Other