Ronnie Ray Smith
| Olympic medal record | ||
|---|---|---|
| Men's Athletics | ||
| Gold | 1968 Mexico City | 4×100 m relay |
Ronald "Ronnie" Ray Smith (born March 28, 1949) is a former American athlete, winner of the gold medal in the 4×100 m relay at the 1968 Summer Olympics. He attended San Jose State College during the "Speed City" era, coached by Lloyd (Bud) Winter.
At the 1968 AAU Championships, Ronnie Ray Smith equaled the 100 m world record in the semifinal, repeating the same time of 9.9 which was run by Jim Hines in the same race and Charles Greene in the other semifinal of the same competition.[1] That evening of June 20, 1968 at Hughes Stadium in Sacramento, California has been dubbed by track and field historians as the "Night of Speed."[2][3] Since Green was still 19 years old at the time, that mark also became the World Junior Record, which lasted for exactly 8 years.
At the Mexico Olympics, Smith ran the third leg in the American 4x100 m relay team that won the gold medal and set a new world record of 38.24 seconds.
[edit] References
[edit] External links
- IAAF profile for Ronnie Ray Smith
- Sports Reference
| Records | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Unknown |
Men's World Junior Record Holder, 100 metres 20 June 1968 – 20 June 1976 |
Succeeded by Harvey Glance |
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- 1949 births
- American sprinters
- Athletes (track and field) at the 1968 Summer Olympics
- Living people
- Olympic track and field athletes of the United States
- Olympic gold medalists for the United States
- Olympic medalists in athletics (track and field)
- American track and field athletics Olympic medalist stubs
- American sprinter stubs
