John Walton Smith (born August 5, 1950) is a former American

athlete An athlete is most commonly a person who competes in one or more sports involving physical strength, speed, power, or endurance. Sometimes, the word "athlete" is used to refer specifically to sport of athletics competitors, i.e. including track ...

, 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 The 1971 Pan American Games, officially known as the VI Pan American Games () and commonly known as Cali 1971, were held in Cali, Colombia, from 30 July to 13 August 1971. (One source dates the Games from July 25 to August 8.) A total of 2,935 ...

. He remains the

world record A world record is usually the best global and most important performance that is ever recorded and officially verified in a specific skill, sport, or other kind of activity. The book ''Guinness World Records'' and other world records organizatio ...

holder for the 440 yard dash at 44.5 seconds. He set the record while winning the

USA Outdoor Track and Field Championships The USA Track & Field Outdoor Championships is an annual track and field competition organized by USA Track & Field, which serves as the American national championships for the sport. Since the year 1992, in the years which feature a Summer Oly ...

on June 26, 1971 while running for the Southern California Striders. 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 The 1972 Summer Olympics (), officially known as the Games of the XX Olympiad () and officially branded as Munich 1972 (; ), were an international multi-sport event held in Munich, West Germany, from 26 August to 11 September 1972. It was the ...

, but injured a hamstring in the 400 m final and failed to finish the race.John Smith
. sports-reference.com After retiring from competition, he became a sprint coach, training Maurice Greene and

Ato Boldon Ato Jabari Boldon (born 30 December 1973) is a Trinidadian former track and field athlete, politician, and four-time Olympic medal winner. He holds the Trinidad and Tobago national record in the 50, 60 and 200 metres events with times of 5.64 ...

amongst others. At the time, his team called

HSI HSI may refer to: Government and politics * Croatian Syrmian Initiative, a political party in Serbia () * Hispanic-serving institution, an American college designation * Homeland Security Investigations, an American law enforcement agency * Human ...

(standing for Hudson Smith International) was the top sprint team in the world.John Smith
UCLA He coached

Carmelita Jeter Carmelita Jeter ( , born November 24, 1979) is a retired American sprint (running), sprinter, who competed in the 60 metres, 100 m and 200 m. For over a decade, between 2009 and 2021, Jeter was called the "Fastest woman alive" after running a 10 ...

, who held the second fastest 100 m time after

Florence Griffith-Joyner Florence Delorez Griffith Joyner (born Florence Delorez Griffith; December 21, 1959 – September 21, 1998), also known as Flo-Jo, was an American track and field athlete and the fastest woman ever recorded. She was married to Al Joyner, a 198 ...

. He also coaches/coached Norwegian sprinter

Jaysuma Saidy Ndure Jaysuma Saidy Ndure (born 1 January 1984) is a Gambian- Norwegian sprinter. He is of Serer heritage of the noble Ndure family. In 2002, he went to Oslo, aged 18 and settled with his father who has lived in Norway since the 1970s. Having change ...

Nigeria Nigeria, officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf of Guinea in the Atlantic Ocean to the south. It covers an area of . With Demographics of Nigeria, ...

n sprinter Blessing Okagbare, Commonwealth Games Champion, and

English Gardner English Gardner (born April 22, 1992) is an American track and field sprinter who specializes in the 100-meter dash. She has a personal best of 10.74 seconds, set in 2016. Career She was born in Philadelphia and grew up in Voorhees Township, ...

, 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 conecutive seasons, 1967-8. He also won the City Championships in the long jump. In 1967, he finished one place behind Wayne Collett from

Gardena High School Gardena High School (GHS) is a public high school in the Harbor Gateway neighborhood of Los Angeles, California, United States, adjacent to the City of Gardena. It serves grades 9 through 12 and is a part of the Los Angeles Unified School Distri ...

, one year his senior. He would next join Collett at

UCLA The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Its academic roots were established in 1881 as a normal school then known as the southern branch of the C ...

, forming a powerhouse team. They won the NCAA 4x440/400 relay championships four consecutive seasons, 1969-72. Smith won the individual 440 in 1971 and 400 in 1972 and both years UCLA won the overall team championship. 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 Marie-José Pérec (; born 9 May 1968) is a retired French track and field sprinter who specialised in the 200 and 400 metres and is a three-time Olympic gold medalist. She was born in the French overseas department of Guadeloupe and moved to ...

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 Quincy D. Watts (born June 19, 1970) is an American former athlete, and two-time gold medalist at the 1992 Summer Olympics. Career Born in Detroit, Michigan, Quincy Watts attended the University of Southern California (USC) where he excelled a ...

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 Inger Miller (born June 12, 1972) is a retired American track and field sprinter who competed in the 100 metres and 200 m. She is the daughter of Lennox Miller, an Olympic double 100 m medallist from Jamaica. She attended John Muir High Sch ...

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 Olympic silver medal *

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 Allen Kenneth Johnson (born March 1, 1971) is an American former hurdling athlete who won the gold medal in the 110 metre hurdles at the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta, Georgia. He is also a four-time world champion. Born in Washington, D.C., ...

Olympic gold medal, 5 World Championship medals, 4 gold *

1 Olympic Gold Medal, 2 World Championship Silver Medals * Dawn Harper 2 Olympic medals, 1 gold, 2 World Championship Medals * Richard Thompson 3 Olympic medals, 1 World Championship medal *

Emmanuel Callender Emmanuel Earl Callender (sometimes Callander; born 10 May 1984 in Arouca, Trinidad and Tobago) is a track and field sprint athlete, who competes internationally for Trinidad and Tobago. Callender represented Trinidad and Tobago at the 2008 Su ...

2 Olympic medals, 1 World Championship medal * Tasha Danvers 1 Olympic medal * Kristi Castlin 1 Olympic Bronze Medal * Cathy Freeman 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 Marion Lois Jones (born October 12, 1975), also known as Marion Jones-Thompson, is an American former world champion track-and-field athlete and former professional basketball player. She won three gold medals and two bronze medals at the 2000 ...

, 4 World Championship medals, 2 gold *

Jason Richardson Jason Anthoney Richardson Sr. (born January 20, 1981) is an American former professional basketball player who played 14 seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA). Richardson was taken by the Golden State Warriors as the fifth overall ...

Olympic silver medal, World Championship gold medal *

Christian Coleman Christian Coleman (born March 6, 1996) is an American professional track and field sprinter who competes in the 60 metres, 100 m and 200 m. The 2019 world champion in the 100 meters, he also won gold as part of men's 4 × 100-meter relay. He ...

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 first World Championship medal for India * Jehue Gordon 1 World Championship Gold Medal * Khalifa St. Fort 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 Martial Mbandjock (born 14 October 1985 in Roubaix) is a French sprinter who specializes in the 100 metres., beijing2008.cn, ret: Aug 26, 2008 His personal best time is 10.06 seconds, achieved in July 2008 in Albi. He won the bronze medal in the ...

* Pilar McShine *

* Mohammed Shaween * Kenneth Ferguson * Jason Pyrah * Marie-Josée Ta Lou

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Smith, John 1950 births Living people American male sprinters Olympic track and field athletes for the United States Athletes (track and field) at the 1972 Summer Olympics University of California, Los Angeles alumni American track and field coaches Track and field athletes from Los Angeles Track and field people from California Athletes (track and field) at the 1971 Pan American Games Medalists at the 1971 Pan American Games Pan American Games gold medalists for the United States in athletics (track and field) NCAA Division I Outdoor Track and Field Championships winners UCLA Bruins men's track and field athletes 20th-century American sportsmen