Mike Smith (decathlete)

Mike Smith

Smith running the 400 metres
Personal information
Nationality	Canadian
Born	(1967-09-16) September 16, 1967 (age 54) Kenora, Ontario
Sport
Sport	Track
Event(s)	Decathlon
Achievements and titles
Personal best(s)	Decathlon: 8626, Gotzis, 1996
Medal record Representing  Canada World Championships 1991 Tokyo Decathlon 1995 Gothenburg Decathlon Commonwealth Games 1990 Auckland Decathlon 1994 Victoria Decathlon 1998 Kuala Lampur Decathlon

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 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).

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; in this capacity, 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.^[2]

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

See also[]

• Canadian records in track and field

References[]

External links[]

• Mike Smith at World Athletics
• Canadian Olympic Committee^{[permanent dead link]}