Calvin Smith (born January 8, 1961) is a formersprinttrack and field athlete from the United States. He is a formerworld record holder in the 100-meter sprint with 9.93 seconds in 1983 and was twiceworld champion over 200 metres, in 1983 and 1987. He became Olympic champion in the 4 × 100-meter relay in 1984. He was born inBolton, Mississippi.
At the inaugural AthleticsWorld Championships in 1983, Smith claimed gold medals in the 200 m and the 4 × 100-metersrelay (which the U.S. team won in world record time), as well as a silver medal behindCarl Lewis in the 100 meters.
In July 1983, Smith won the first of his two BritishAAA Championships titles in the 100 metres event at the1982 AAA Championships.[2] One month later in August 1983, Smith become the first athlete torun under 10 seconds (9.97) for the 100 m and under 20 seconds (19.99) for the 200 meters in the same evening inZürich, Switzerland.
At the1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles, Smith became champion as part of the U.S. 4 × 100-meters relay team, again establishing a new world record in this event.
At the 1987 World Championships, Smith successfully defended his 200-meter title. (At that time, the World Championships were held once every four years, whereas since 1991 they are held every two years.)
At the1988 Summer Olympics in Seoul, Smith was involved in the most controversial Olympic 100 meters final of all time and ended up in third position (after the initial winner, Ben Johnson, was disqualified: SEE below).
Smith missed out on what seemed like a likely win in the 4 × 100-meters relay in Seoul because the U.S. team did not reach the final following a disqualification for passing the baton outside the legal area.
Smith continued to run for the U.S. national team into the 1990s. In the later years of his career, he was named captain of the U.S. track and field team at major events including the Olympic Games and World Championships. In 1990, Smith won the his second British AAA Championships titles at the1990 AAA Championships.[3]
Ben Johnson of Canada crossed the line first, with Lewis second,Linford Christie of Great Britain third, and Smith fourth. When Johnson tested positive foranabolic steroids and was stripped of his title, Smith was upgraded to third position. Johnson was not the only participant whose success was questioned: Lewis had tested positive at theOlympic Trials forpseudoephedrine,ephedrine andphenylpropanolamine. Lewis defended himself, claiming that he had accidentally consumed the banned substances. After the supplements that he had taken were analyzed to prove his claims, the USOC accepted his claim of inadvertent use, since a dietary supplement he ingested was found to contain "Ma huang", the Chinese name forEphedra (ephedrine is known to help weight loss).[4] FellowSanta Monica Track Club teammatesJoe DeLoach andFloyd Heard were also found to have the same banned stimulants in their systems, and were cleared to compete for the same reason.[5][6]
The highest level of the stimulants Lewis recorded was 6 ppm, which was regarded as a positive test in 1988.[4] According to the IOC rules at the time, positive tests with levels lower than 10 ppm were cause of further investigation but not immediate ban. Neal Benowitz, a professor of medicine at UC San Francisco who is an expert on ephedrine and other stimulants, agreed that "These [levels] are what you'd see from someone taking cold or allergy medicines and are unlikely to have any effect on performance."[4]
Christie was found to havemetabolites of pseudoephedrine in his urine after a 200 m heat at the same Olympics, but was later cleared of any wrongdoing.[7][8][9][10] Of the finalists, only Smith and sixth-placedRobson da Silva never failed a drug test during their careers. Smith later said: "I should have been the gold medalist."[11][12][13]
Smith is married to Melanie, whom he met at college, and has two children, a daughter Brittney and a sonCalvin Smith Jr.[1]
Smith retired from athletics in 1996 and was then for two years an assistant coach at theUniversity of Alabama. He then moved with his family toTampa, Florida where he has pursued a variety of careers. He is currently working for a non-profit agency that provides people with medical assistance.[1]
Smith's 19.99 run, made him the second man in history to achieve both a sub-10 second 100 m and a sub-20 second 200 m. Carl Lewis having achieved the feat 66 days earlier.
Smith was ranked among the best in the USA and the world in both the 100 and 200 m sprint events from 1980 to 1993, according to the votes of the experts ofTrack and Field News.[15][16][17][18]
