Q & A WITH FORMER 100M WORLD RECORDHOLDER (IN 1983) CALVIN SMITH AFTER HE WAS ELECTED TO THE US T&F HALL OF FAME IN INDY.
Q: How did you react when you learned that you had been elected to the National Track & Field Hall of Fame?
A: I was very surprised and honored to be picked as one of this year’s honorees to be inducted into the Hall of Fame. I felt that one day it would come and I’m just happy that the time is here.
Q: Could you talk about the beginning of your track and field career?
A: I started in school in Mississippi. Basically I was in a P.E. class playing football with my classmates and the coach saw me running with the ball and he asked me to come out for track, and so I went out for track that year, and I went into it in the eighth grade not knowing much about track. With all the silliness and all that kind of stuff I quit and then I went back the next year. I had an excellent high school career. I won at state four years in a row in the 100 meters and three years in a row in the 200 meters.
Q: What was it like being recruited to compete in college?
A: A lot of schools had not heard about me coming out of high school. Basically during that summer year I went to some post high school meets is when a number of schools heard about me. At that time I was interested in schools like Mississippi State, Old Miss, Alabama and Auburn, and I had a cousin that ran for UCLA, so I did do a visit there. But in the end I decided to choose Alabama, which was not too close to home, but just far enough away. It turned out to be a pretty good decision.
Q: The 1983 season was one of your most memorable, and it included bettering the 100m world record that had stood for 15 years. Did that come as surprise to you when it happened?
A: Actually I was very surprised. I was having a great season and it was my senior year and I had been running a lot of events, which included the 4x100 and 4x400m relays and at that time in college there were many rounds, not like today. I had a very tiresome collegiate season, yet a good season, and when I went to the national championships I went there somewhat tired from the collegiate season and I placed third at the nationals. Unfortunately, the two people that beat me at nationals, Carl Lewis and Emmit King, were all from the south as well, so actually I didn’t make the 100m team (for the 1983 Olympic Sports Festival). Fortunately both of them decided they didn’t want to go. So, I decided to go to Colorado Springs to run and basically, from having a long season, I took a week off and the following week I just did very light workouts because I felt my body needed to rest. I went to the meet, and I feel with all the rest and my body being in great condition, that I was ready to run fast, as I did. The key to the world record was the rest I took prior to going to the meet.
Q: What was it like to hold the 100m world record?
A: It was a great feeling because I had done something that no one else had done and that brought a lot of joy and excitement to me, because setting a world record was always a goal for me. Many times you set out to do things that you know are hard and may not happen, so for me to reach that goal it was very exciting and one of those things I’ll never forget.
Q: At the inaugural World Outdoor Championships in 1983 you won the gold medal in the 200 meters and the silver medal in the 100 meters. Tell us about that.
A: I had a lot of confidence that I was ready to run, and I was in great shape. I knew the competition would be great and I went out to run my race, and basically that’s what I concentrated on each round was not to put out an all out effort in the rounds, but to save something for the finals and basically that’s what I did. I was having a great year and I was in great condition, and everything fell into place. I knew the 100 meters would be tough, and the key thing for me was the start and I was inconsistent. Basically I was just trying to make sure that if I got a good start then it would be a good race for me. I also knew that if I got a not so good start that I could beat most of the guys in the race because my finish has always been one of my strong points for the 100 meters and the start has been a weak point. I was pleased with the silver medal.
Q: Which did you think was your strongest event, the 100m or 200m?
A: Overall I was pretty much equally good in both. I just liked the 100 more because it was a shorter than the 200. At different points in the season I would have more confidence in one event. During the later part of the season I would have more confidence in the 200. In the early part of the season, although the speed was not there, I would have more confidence in the 100 meters until I was in the shape and condition that I really need to be in for the 200.
Q: Many world class sprinters are known for being over the top in terms of bragging about their abilities, and you were never like that. Why?
A: I would say it was just my nature. I just wanted to go out and have a good time and just run, and whatever happens, happens. There were those who wanted to talk and I used some of that as motivation for me to go out and beat them because of the talk. Some people need that to try psych other people out or psych themselves up. I just wanted to go out and run, and that’s what I did.
Q: So many of the great sprinters we’ve seen through the years have muscular builds and you were built more like a greyhound. How did your physical make-up give you an advantage over those physically stronger competitors?
A: My running and training was different from many runners. I did a lot of longer and close to mid-distance type running, especially in the fall and in to mid-season. My concentration was more geared toward doing more speed type work around May when a lot of the runners concentrated on indoors into the outdoor season. For me, indoors was important, but not important, so I didn’t concentrate on indoors that much. The early part of the season I was concentrated on speed because I was working on endurance and getting in great condition type work in March and April. At that time I just wanted to be in the best condition, and for me, winning wasn’t everything, so when I was getting beat in April and May it only gave me motivation to work harder on certain things. I knew, based on my training, that I was not geared to be winning against some of those athletes, but I wanted to gear up for later in the season when I would be running faster. Throughout my career after college I was self-coached, and I did what I thought was needed to be successful.
Q: Your best years coincided with the prime of fellow Hall of Famer Carl Lewis. With all the attention he received during his career and with all your many accomplishments, did you ever feel that you never received the attention you deserved?
A: I could have gotten more attention, but that was all based on what the media wanted to do. I was just out to do my thing and enjoy running and to perform and that’s basically what I did. I didn’t worry about all the hype, or whatever, because I just wanted to line up on the track and let things take care of them selves.
Q: What did you do following your athletic career and what are you doing these days?
A: I taught school for many years in middle schools and I coached at a number of high schools in the Tampa Bay area. At the present time I’m a supervisor of a housing program for ex-offenders (Gulf Coast Community Care) as well as coaching high school athletes.