Sub-10 second races are commonplace now in the 100 metre sprint for men, but were not so commonly seen throughout the 1970s and even the early 80s. The world record for the distance had been held since 1968 by American sprinter Jim Hines, who won the gold medal at the Mexico City Olympics in a time of 9.95 seconds. That meet saw several world records and the explanation for that was because of the high altitude of Mexico City. That record was finally broken in 1983 by fellow US sprinter Calvin Smith.
Smith had actually produced a faster time of 9.91 seconds a year earlier at a meet in East Germany, but this was chalked off because the following wind of 2.1m/s was above the legal limit. However he returned in 1983 to break the world record legitimately, at a meet in Colorado, shaving two-hundreths of a second off the Jim Hines mark. This run was also at high altitude, and it was commonplace to see athletes attempt world records in the sprints at meets held in the more rarefied air of a high altitude venue in those days.
Unfortunately for Smith, his career coincided with that of Carl Lewis, whose more outgoing personality sat better with the media. Lewis also had the ability to turn on the speed when it really mattered, as he swept up the 100 metres and the long jump at the inaugural World Championships of Athletics, in Helsinki later that year. Smith would win the 200 metres, in a time of 20.14 seconds, while both men helped the USA team win the 4x100 metres relay, setting a world record time of 37.14 seconds in the process.
Calvin Smith sealed a great year in Zurich after the World Championships, where he ran a 9.97 in the 100 metres and then a 19.99 in the 200 metres, making him the first man to run sub-10 and sub-20 at the same meet, at the respective distances. While Lewis went on to become the darling of the media, Smith continued to turn in impressive performances over a period of several years. He retained his 200 metres World title in Rome in 1987, before lining up in Seoul a year later for what many consider to be the greatest race ever - the Olympic 100 metres final 'won' by Canadian Ben Johnson. Of course the result was subsequently overturned, after the most infamous positive dope test in athletics. Smith originally finished fourth in that final and was upgraded to bronze retrospectively, while second-placed Lewis was awarded gold.
The achievements of Calvin Smith remain overshadowed by those of Lewis, despite allegations of positive tests by the latter being overturned by the US governing body, thus allowing Lewis to compete. No such allegations have ever been aimed at Smith, and it is fitting that 30 years after he broke that world record, he is remembered today.
Here is footage of Calvin Smith breaking Jim Hines's 1968 world record:
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