| Birth Name Tommie C. Smith | Date of Birth 6 June 1944 | Birth Town Clarksville, Texas, United States of America |
A former track and field athlete, who also played in the American football league in the United States as a wide receiver.
| National Inheritance |
Tommie Smith had moved to California with his parents and his sporting abilities became apparent. Excelling in football, basketball and track and field events in high school.
He participated in the 1968 summer Olympics at the age of 24, representing America in the 200 meter sprint contest and won the gold medal in the sprint finals at 19.83 seconds, what a record! And it happened to be the first time the 20-second barrier was broken legally. Tommie Smith raised the faces of the blacks. John Carlos started the medal podium protest injustice and racism against every African American in the United States, which is as a result of Tommie Smiths black power influence. And the date remains a symbolic event in the history of the blacks in the United States. Tommie Smith and John Carlos circled at the 200 meters award ceremony of the 1968 Olympics, Tommie Smith an American by nationality, who lived in Clarksville, Texas, United States.
Tommie Smith is 6 foot and 3 inches tall, weighed 185 lb, his sport was mainly track and field events, he played for the college team in San, Jose, and also played local club games for Santa Clara valley youth village. Superstar Tommie Smith left the league with great achievements and titles.
74 years old Tommie Smiths Personal Best
- 400 m: 44.5h (San Jose, 1967)1,2
- 100 m: 10.1h (San Jose, 1966)1,2
- 200 m: 19.83 (Mexico City, 1968)1,2
- Gold medal – first place. 1967 Tokyo, 200 m
- Gold medal – first place. 1968 Mexico City, 200 m
- Silver medal – second place. 1967 Tokyo, 100 m
Tommie Smiths career started from high school, Lemoore-CA to college, San Jose State, so when he finally got drafted by the NFL in the 1967/round 9. Tommie Smith is a good definition of a true legend, his determination, and a great will to succeed enriched his ability to be a successful athlete during his time, and thereby reinforced the fact that no matter how tough and ugly any situation may seem to be, it can never change the destiny of a determined soul. One fantastic thing about Tommie Smiths career was that, despite the level of competition and racism during his time he was able to live an excellent athletic record, some of the challenges he faced during his time was political judgement and bigotry but he prevailed, and today it’s a good story to tell.
Tommie Smith was born and raised in Clarksville, Texas, during his college days in San Jose state university he set multiple records for the track and event team in the late 1960s. john Carlos was a teammate to Tommie Smith, and after Smith won the 200-meters gold medal at the 1968 Olympics, he and j-Carlos caused an uproar through delivering a black-power salute on the podium. As years went on T-smith became a professor in the field of sociology and letter also became a track coach until he retired in the year 2005.
Tommie Smith went as far as becoming involved in the civil rights movement, as a result of this creating the Olympic project for Human right alongside with his teammate Carlos and a sociology professor Harry Edwards. In 1968 Smith and Carlos U.S. Olympic track-and-field team. The track and field event legend Tommie Smith was elected the national track and field Hall of fame in 1978 and was already inducted to the California black sports Hall of fame. During Smith retirement period he and Carlos in 2005 received an honorary doctorate from their alma mater which rooted the unveiling of a statue in the University that innorates their famous Olympic salute.
Tommie Smith and John Carlos are indeed a symbol of black unity.
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