- Mike Smith (athlete)
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Smith running the 400 meters
Michael "Mike" Cameron Smith (born September 16, 1967) is a Canadian decathlete from Kenora, Ontario.
Biography
He attended Pinecrest Elementary School, Lakewood Intermediate School, Beaver Brae Secondary School and then Central Technical School in Toronto for his final year of high school.
Smith attended the University of Toronto Commerce program during his athletic career. He was coached by Andy Higgins while living in Toronto, Ontario and then by Les Gramantik when he moved to live and train in Calgary, Alberta in 1994.
Smith won a silver medal at the World Junior Track and Field Championships in 1986. At the 1988 Olympics in Seoul, he placed 14th. At the 1990 Commonwealth Games Smith won a gold medal. In 1991, he was the silver medal winner at the World Track and Field Championships, and was the first North American to win the Götzis International Decathlon, which he won again in 1996.
In 1992 at Barcelona, Spain, Smith was the opening ceremonies flag bearer for Canada at the Olympics. Unfortunately during the decathlon Smith pulled a hamstring and was forced to withdraw on the first day of the two-day competition. In 1994, he won gold at the Commonwealth Games for the second time.
Smith was ranked in the top 10 in the world for 10 years in a row from 1989 to 1998 with his highest rankings being #2 in the world in 1991 and #3 in the world in 1995.
Personal Best Performances
Smith holds the Canadian Record in the decathlon with a total of 8626 points set in Gotzis Austria in 1996.
The sum of Smith's overall personal bests in the individual disciplines of decathlon totals 9,362 points (the second best ever after Dan O'Brien).[1]
Day 1: 100 meters - 10.70 seconds, Long Jump - 7.76 meteres, Shot Put - 18.03 meters, High Jump - 2.14 meters, 400 meters - 47.06 seconds
Day 2: 110 meter hurdles - 14.24 seconds, Discus Throw - 52.90 meters, Pole Vault - 5.20 meters, Javelin Throw - 71.22 meters, 1500 meters - 4:20,04Total: 9362 points
Smith still holds the worlds best performance for the 3 combined throwing events in decathlon (shot put, discus, javelin).
World Ranking Decathlete Nation Points Shot Put Discus Javelin Venue Date 1 Michael Smith CAN 2748 16.94m 52.90m 71.22m Götzis 26.05.96 2 Bryan Clay USA 2734 16.25m 53.68m 72.00m Helsinki 10.08.05 3 William Motti FRA 2595 16.96m 52.46m 68.20m Emmitsburg 29.09.91 Currently
Smith retired from the sport of decathlon in 1999 and went on to a career in financial services and wealth management. He also works for CBC Television Sports as a color commentator for track and field events. Smith now resides in Calgary with his wife Angela where he is a private client wealth manager at Stifel Nicolaus / Thomas Weisel Partners and now enjoys many outdoor sports including fly fishing, skiing, heliskiing, road biking, windsurfing, kiteboarding[disambiguation needed
], archery, downhill mountain biking, bowhunting, waterfowl and upland hunting.Decathlon Achievements
Year Tournament Venue Result Event 1986 World Junior Championships Athens, Greece 2nd Decathlon Commonwealth Games Edinburgh, Scotland 7th Decathlon 1987 Hypo-Meeting Götzis, Austria 6th Decathlon World Championships Rome, Italy DNF Decathlon 1988 Hypo-Meeting Götzis, Austria 12th Decathlon Summer Olympics Seoul, South Korea 14th Decathlon 1989 Hypo-Meeting Götzis, Austria 4th Decathlon Jeux de la Francophonie Casablanca, Morocco 1st Decathlon 1990 Commonwealth Games Auckland, New Zealand 1st Decathlon 1991 Hypo-Meeting Götzis, Austria 1st Decathlon World Championships Tokyo, Japan 2nd Decathlon 1992 Hypo-Meeting Götzis, Austria 3rd Decathlon Summer Olympics Barcelona, Spain DNF Decathlon 1993 World Indoor Championships Toronto, Canada 2nd Heptathlon Hypo-Meeting Götzis, Austria 3rd Decathlon World Championships Stuttgart, Germany DNF Decathlon 1994 Hypo-Meeting Götzis, Austria 4th Decathlon Commonwealth Games Victoria, Canada 1st Decathlon 1995 Hypo-Meeting Götzis, Austria DNF Decathlon World Championships Gothenburg, Sweden 3rd Decathlon 1996 Hypo-Meeting Götzis, Austria 1st Decathlon (8626 pts = NR) Summer Olympics Atlanta, Georgia, USA 13th Decathlon 1997 Hypo-Meeting Götzis, Austria 3rd Decathlon 1998 Hypo-Meeting Götzis, Austria 7th Decathlon Commonwealth Games Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia 3rd Decathlon IAAF World Combined Events Challenge several places 8th Decathlon References
- ^ "Total points based on personal bests". Decathlon'2000 site. http://www.decathlon2000.ee/eng/statistics.php?art=841. Retrieved 2008-09-16.
External links
- IAAF profile for Mike Smith (athlete)
- Canadian Olympic Committee
1966: Roy Williams (NZL) • 1970: Geoff Smith (AUS) • 1974: Mike Bull (NIR) • 1978 – 1986: Daley Thompson (ENG) • 1990 – 1994: Mike Smith (CAN) • 1998: Jagan Hames (AUS) • 2002: Claston Bernard (JAM) • 2006: Dean Macey (ENG) • 2010: Jamie Adjetey-Nelson (CAN)
Categories:- 1967 births
- Living people
- Canadian decathletes
- Athletes (track and field) at the 1988 Summer Olympics
- Athletes (track and field) at the 1990 Commonwealth Games
- Athletes (track and field) at the 1992 Summer Olympics
- Athletes (track and field) at the 1994 Commonwealth Games
- Athletes (track and field) at the 1996 Summer Olympics
- Athletes (track and field) at the 1998 Commonwealth Games
- Commonwealth Games gold medallists for Canada
- Commonwealth Games bronze medallists for Canada
- Olympic track and field athletes of Canada
- Sportspeople from Ontario
- People from Kenora
- Canadian track and field athletics biography stubs
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