Graham Smith (Canadian swimmer)
Personal information | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Full name | Donald Graham Smith | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
National team | Canada | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Born | Edmonton, Alberta, Canada | May 9, 1958|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Sport | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Sport | Swimming | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Strokes | Breaststroke, medley | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Club | Calgary Dinos, Calgary (CAN) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
College team | University of California, Berkeley | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Coach | Nort Thornton | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Medal record
|
Donald Graham Smith (born May 9, 1958) is a Canadian former competition swimmer who swam for the University of California Berkeley, and won a silver medal in the men's 4x100-metre medley relay at the 1976 Summer Olympics in Montreal, Quebec. He did so alongside teammates Stephen Pickell, Clay Evans and Gary MacDonald. His brother George and sister Becky also competed in swimming.
Smith attended the University of California Berkeley where he swam under Hall of Fame Coach Nort Thornton. During his time at Berkeley, he won an NCAA national swimming championship.[1][2]
At the 1978 Commonwealth Games in Edmonton, Alberta, he became the first competitor to win six gold medals at a single Commonwealth Games; he won the 100- and 200-metre breaststroke, 200- and 400-metre individual medleys, and was part of the winning 4x100-metre freestyle and 4x100-metre medley relay teams. Smith twice broke the world record in the men's 200-metre individual medley (long course).
Taking off a year from college to train for the 1980 Summer Olympics, he lost his chance to participate when the games were boycotted by Canada. Though he had been considered Canada's greatest swimmer, in 1982 he formally left competitive swimming, and served as a coach for several years before earning an MBA from St. Mary’s College of California. In 2013 he owned a Canadian consulting firm in British Columbia.[2]
Smith was inducted into the Alberta Sports Hall of Fame and Museum in 1978.[3]
See also
[edit]- List of Commonwealth Games medallists in swimming (men)
- List of Olympic medalists in swimming (men)
- List of University of California, Berkeley alumni
- World record progression 200 metres individual medley
References
[edit]- ^ "Nort Thornton (USA): 1995 Honor Coach". International Swimming Hall of Fame. Archived from the original on February 4, 2021.
- ^ a b "Olympedia Olympic Bio, Graham Smith". olympedia.com. Retrieved February 4, 2021.
- ^ "Graham Smith, 1978". Alberta Sports Hall of Fame. Archived from the original on February 3, 2022. Retrieved February 3, 2022.
External links
[edit]- Evans, Hilary; Gjerde, Arild; Heijmans, Jeroen; Mallon, Bill; et al. "Graham Smith". Olympics at Sports-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on 2009-08-13.
- 1958 births
- Living people
- California Golden Bears men's swimmers
- Canadian expatriate swimmers in the United States
- Canadian male breaststroke swimmers
- Canadian male medley swimmers
- Commonwealth Games gold medallists for Canada
- World record setters in swimming
- Northern Star Award winners
- Medalists at the 1976 Summer Olympics
- Olympic silver medalists for Canada
- Olympic swimmers for Canada
- Swimmers from Edmonton
- Swimmers at the 1976 Summer Olympics
- Swimmers at the 1978 Commonwealth Games
- Swimmers at the 1979 Pan American Games
- World Aquatics Championships medalists in swimming
- Pan American Games silver medalists for Canada
- Pan American Games bronze medalists for Canada
- Olympic silver medalists in swimming
- Commonwealth Games medallists in swimming
- Pan American Games medalists in swimming
- Summer World University Games medalists in swimming
- FISU World University Games gold medalists for Canada
- Medalists at the 1977 Summer Universiade
- Medalists at the 1979 Pan American Games
- Medallists at the 1978 Commonwealth Games
- 20th-century Canadian sportsmen
- Canadian swimming biography stubs
- Canadian Olympic medalist stubs