Career
Born in McKinney, Texas, Smith moved to California when he was a kid. He was originally a high jumper, but University of California Berkeley, the university he wanted to attend, already had a strong high jumping team, so he took up pole vaulting. During the remainder of World World War II, Guinn Smith served as an air force pilot in Asia.
During a rainy competition, Smith took the gold in his last attempt for 4.30 m (14 ft 11⁄4 in).
He died at age 83 in San Francisco of emphysema.