Mike Smith (decathlete)

Michael "Mike" Cameron Smith (born September 16, 1967) is a Canadian decathlete from Kenora, Ontario.

Mike Smith
Smith running the 400 metres
Personal information
NationalityCanadian
Born (1967-09-16) September 16, 1967
Kenora, Ontario
Sport
SportTrack
Event(s)Decathlon
Achievements and titles
Personal best(s)Decathlon: 8626, Gotzis, 1996
Medal record
Representing  Canada
World Championships
1991 TokyoDecathlon
1995 GothenburgDecathlon
Commonwealth Games
1990 AucklandDecathlon
1994 VictoriaDecathlon
1998 Kuala LampurDecathlon

Biography

He attended Pinecrest Elementary School, Lakewood Intermediate School, Beaver Brae Secondary School in Kenora, Ontario, 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.

Michael Smith

Personal Best Performances

Smith held the Canadian Record in the decathlon with a total of 8626 points set in Gotzis Austria in 1996. Smith's record was broken by Damian Warner, with a total of 8659 points, at the 2015 Pan American Games.

The sum of Smith's overall personal bests in the individual disciplines of decathlon totals 9,362 points (the third best ever after Ashton Eaton & Dan O'Brien).[1]

Day 1: 100 meters - 10.70 seconds, Long Jump - 7.76 meters, 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 - 4:20,04

Total: 9362 points

Smith still holds the world's 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

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 and CTV Television as a color commentator for track and field events.

Currently

Smith now resides in Calgary, Alberta, Canada, with his wife Angela and daughter, where he is involved in the finance and technology industries.

Michael Smith

Achievements
Year Competition Venue Position Event Notes
Representing  Canada
1986 World Junior Championships Athens, Greece 13th (h) 4 × 400 m relay 3:11.26
2nd Decathlon 7523 pts
Commonwealth Games Edinburgh, United Kingdom 7th Decathlon 7363 pts
1987 Hypo-Meeting Götzis, Austria 6th Decathlon 8126 pts
World Championships Rome, Italy — Decathlon DNF
1988 Hypo-Meeting Götzis, Austria 12th Decathlon 8039 pts
Summer Olympics Seoul, South Korea 14th Decathlon 8083 pts
1989 Hypo-Meeting Götzis, Austria 4th Decathlon 8121 pts
Jeux de la Francophonie Casablanca, Morocco 1st Decathlon 8160 pts
1990 Commonwealth Games Auckland, New Zealand 1st Decathlon 8525 pts
1991 Hypo-Meeting Götzis, Austria 1st Decathlon 8427 pts
World Championships Tokyo, Japan 2nd Decathlon 8549 pts
1992 Hypo-Meeting Götzis, Austria 3rd Decathlon 8409 pts
Summer Olympics Barcelona, Spain — Decathlon DNF
1993 World Indoor Championships Toronto, Canada 2nd Heptathlon 6279 pts
Hypo-Meeting Götzis, Austria 3rd Decathlon 8362 pts
World Championships Stuttgart, Germany — Decathlon DNF
1994 Hypo-Meeting Götzis, Austria 4th Decathlon 8191 pts
Commonwealth Games Victoria, Canada 1st Decathlon 8326 pts
1995 Hypo-Meeting Götzis, Austria — Decathlon DNF
World Championships Gothenburg, Sweden 3rd Decathlon 8419 pts
1996 Hypo-Meeting Götzis, Austria 1st Decathlon 8626 pts (NR)
Summer Olympics Atlanta, Georgia, United States 13th Decathlon 8271 pts
1997 Hypo-Meeting Götzis, Austria 3rd Decathlon 8555 pts
1998 Hypo-Meeting Götzis, Austria 7th Decathlon 8228 pts
Commonwealth Games Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia 3rd Decathlon 8143 pts
World Combined Events Challenge several places 8th Decathlon 24,543 pts
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gollark: https://github.com/zhuowei/nft_ptr
gollark: You might be able to dig up code to use it somewhere, but I don't know.
gollark: For practical stuff it's probably worse than a newer more powerful one which is actually supported.

See also
  • Canadian records in track and field

References
  1. "Total points based on personal bests". Decathlon'2000 site. Retrieved 2008-09-16.


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