Background
He was born in Bolton, Mississippi.
He was born in Bolton, Mississippi.
University of Alabama.
Though Smith was one of the best sprinters in the world in the 1980s, he was a quiet and unassuming character and ran in the shadow of the more charismatic Carl Lewis. Smith had a dazzling collegiate career at the University of Alabama. Smith set the 100 metre world record on July 3, 1983 at the United States. Olympic Festival at Colorado Springs, with a run of 9.93 seconds.
In doing so, he broke the previous record set by Jim Hines, which had lasted for almost 15 years.
Both Hines" and Smith"s records were set at high altitude. August 1983 also saw Smith become the first athlete to run under 10 seconds (997) for the 100 m and under 20 seconds (1999) for the 200 meters in the same evening in Zurich, Switzerland.
(At that time, the World Championships were held once every four years, whereas since 1991 they are held every two years)
Ben Johnson of Canada crossed the line first, with Lewis second, Linford Christie of Great Britain third, and Smith fourth. When Johnson tested positive for anabolic steroids and was stripped of his gold medal, Smith was upgraded to the bronze medal position.
The race has been called by one newspaper "the dirtiest race in history", as Lewis later admitted to having tested positive for stimulants in that year"s trials, and Christie"s urine also contained metabolites of a banned substance after the race.
Of the top 5 in that race, Smith is the only one who never failed a drugs test. Smith later said: "I should have been the gold medalist". In the Entertainment and Sports Programming Network documentary 9.79*, eventual silver medalist Christie states, and footage of the race shows, that Lewis "ran out of his lane.. two or three times" during the race, which should have resulted in Lewis" automatic disqualification.
This should have elevated Smith to, at least, the silver medal.
Smith missed out on what seemed like a likely gold medal in the 4x100-meters relay in Seoul because the United States. team did not reach the final following a disqualification for passing the baton outside the legal area. Smith continued to run for the United States. national team into the 1990s.
In the later years of his career, he was named captain of the United States. track and field team at major events including the Olympic Games and World Championships. He’s “earned 16 All-America titles - the most in UF track and field history - plus one national championship..” and was an alternate "in the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games on the United States. 4x400 relay.”.
At the 1987 World Championships, Smith successfully defended his 200-meter gold medal.