Willie Smith (sprinter)

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Willie James Smith III (February 28, 1956 – November 7, 2020) was an American sprinter who specialized in the 400 meters. He was the national champion in the 400 meters in 1979 and 1980 and won an Olympic gold medal in the 4 × 400 meter relay at the 1984 Los Angeles Games.

Smith grew up in Uniondale, New York, and was named Track and Field News High School Athlete of the Year in 1974 after a standout sprinting career. He attended Auburn University, competing for the Auburn Tigers. He began as a 100-meter sprinter but switched to the 400 meters due to injuries and strong competition. He was an alternate for the U.S. 4 × 100 meter relay team at the 1976 Montreal Olympics.

At the college level, Smith won NCAA indoor titles in the 400 meters in 1978 and 1979, and was the outdoor runner-up in 1978. Internationally, he earned a silver medal in the 1977 World Student Games (400 meters) and helped the U.S. win the 4 × 400 meters relay at the 1979 and 1981 IAAF World Cups.

In 1983, during the inaugural IAAF World Championships, a collision on the track ended his team’s chances in the relay, an incident he later called a stupid mistake. He finished sixth in the 400 meters at the 1984 U.S. Olympic Trials, qualifying the 4 × 400 meter relay team for the Games, where the team won gold. He finished second in the 400 meters at the 1980 Olympic Trials but could not compete at the Moscow Games due to the U.S. boycott; he later received a Congressional Gold Medal for spurned athletes.

Smith continued to compete into the late 1980s and tried again for the Olympics in 1988 and 1996, though he did not qualify. He set a masters record and later worked as a television news director and ran sports camps for young people. He was inducted into the Alabama Sports Hall of Fame in 1997 and was honored on Auburn University’s Tiger Trail in 2000.

Willie Smith passed away in 2020 at the age of 64.