Name Mike Smith | Role Decathlete | |
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.
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).
Day 1: 100 meters - 10.70 seconds, Long Jump - 7.76 meteres, 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 worlds 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.
Currently
Smith now resides in Calgary, Alberta Canada with his wife Angela and daughter where he is Vice President of Strait Financial - a specialty investment company.