Michael Cameron "Mike" Smith (born September 16, 1967) is a Canadian decathlete from Kenora, Ontario.
Biography Decathlete Mike Smith attended Pinecrest Elementary School, Lakewood Intermediate School, and Beaver Brae Secondary School, then completed his final year of high school at Central Technical School in Toronto, Canada.
Smith attended the University of Toronto Commerce program during his athletic career. He was coached by Andy Higgins while living in Toronto, 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 Summer Olympics in Seoul, he placed 14th. At the 1990 Commonwealth Games Smith won a gold medal. He was the silver medal winner at the 1991 World Track and Field Championships, and was the first North American to win the Götzis International Decathlon, which he won again in 1996.
At the 1992 Summer Olympics in 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 among the top ten decathletes in the world for ten 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 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 Mike 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).
Day 1: 100 metres - 10.70 seconds, Long Jump - 7.76 metres, Shot Put - 18.03 metres, High Jump - 2.14 metres, 400 meters - 47.06 seconds Day 2: 110 metre hurdles - 14.24 seconds, Discus Throw - 52.90 metres, Pole Vault - 5.20 metres, Javelin Throw - 71.22 metres, 1500 metres - 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 2Bryan 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
Mike Smith retired from the sport of decathlon in 1999, commencing a career in financial services and wealth management.
He has also worked for CBC Television Sports and CTV Television as a colour commentator for track and field events. He received a Canadian Screen Award nomination for Best Sports Analyst at the 10th Canadian Screen Awards as a commentator for CBC Television's coverage of the 2020 Summer Olympics.Brent Furdyk, "2022 Canadian Screen Award Nominees Announced, ‘Sort Of’ & ‘Scarborough’ Lead The Pack" . ET Canada, February 15, 2022.
Achievements Representing 1986World Junior ChampionshipsAthens, Greece13th (h)4 × 400 m relay3:11.262ndDecathlon7523 ptsCommonwealth GamesEdinburgh, United Kingdom7thDecathlon7363 pts1987Hypo-MeetingGötzis, Austria6thDecathlon8126 ptsWorld ChampionshipsRome, Italy —DecathlonDNF1988Hypo-MeetingGötzis, Austria12thDecathlon8039 ptsSummer OlympicsSeoul, South Korea14thDecathlon8083 pts1989Hypo-MeetingGötzis, Austria4thDecathlon8121 ptsJeux de la FrancophonieCasablanca, Morocco 1stDecathlon8160 pts1990Commonwealth GamesAuckland, New Zealand 1stDecathlon8525 pts1991Hypo-MeetingGötzis, Austria 1stDecathlon8427 ptsWorld ChampionshipsTokyo, Japan 2ndDecathlon8549 pts1992Hypo-MeetingGötzis, Austria 3rdDecathlon8409 ptsSummer OlympicsBarcelona, Spain —DecathlonDNF1993World Indoor ChampionshipsToronto, Canada 2ndHeptathlon6279 ptsHypo-MeetingGötzis, Austria 3rdDecathlon8362 ptsWorld ChampionshipsStuttgart, Germany —DecathlonDNF1994Hypo-MeetingGötzis, Austria4thDecathlon8191 ptsCommonwealth GamesVictoria, Canada 1stDecathlon8326 pts1995Hypo-MeetingGötzis, Austria —DecathlonDNFWorld ChampionshipsGothenburg, Sweden 3rdDecathlon8419 pts1996Hypo-MeetingGötzis, Austria 1stDecathlon8626 pts (NR)Summer OlympicsAtlanta, Georgia, United States13thDecathlon8271 pts1997Hypo-MeetingGötzis, Austria 3rdDecathlon8555 pts1998Hypo-MeetingGötzis, Austria7thDecathlon8228 ptsCommonwealth GamesKuala Lumpur, Malaysia 3rdDecathlon8143 ptsWorld Combined Events Challengeseveral places8thDecathlon24,543 pts
See also Canadian records in track and field
References
External links