David Smith (hammer thrower, born 1962)

Dave Smith
Personal information
NationalityBritish (English)
Born (1962-06-21) 21 June 1962
Kingston upon Hull, East Riding of Yorkshire, England
Height193 cm (6 ft 4 in)
Weight115 kg (254 lb)
Sport
SportAthletics
EventHammer throw
ClubHull Spartan, Kingston upon Hull
Medal record
Athletics
Representing  England
Commonwealth Games
1986 Edinburgh hammer
1990 Auckland hammer

David Smith (born 21 June 1962 in Kingston upon Hull, East Riding of Yorkshire) is a retired hammer thrower who competed for Great Britain at the 1988 Summer Olympics.[1]

Biography

Smith, a member of Hull Spartan, finished third behind Martin Girvan in the hammer throw event at the 1981 AAA Championships.[2]

Smith became the British hammer throw champion after winning the British AAA Championships title at the 1984 AAA Championships[3] and would go on to defend his title very year from 1985 to 1988.[4] Smith set his personal best (77.30 metres) in 1985.[5]

He represented England and won a gold medal, at the 1986 Commonwealth Games in Edinburgh, Scotland.[6][7]

At the 1988 Olympic Games in Seoul, he represented Great Britain in the men's hammer throw event, finishing in 23rd place, having thrown 69.12 metres in the qualifying round.[1] Two years later he represented England and won a silver medal, at the 1990 Commonwealth Games in Auckland, New Zealand.[8][9][10]

In addition to his five AAA titles, he won the UK Athletics Championships four times in 1984, 1985, 1987 and 1988.

Personal life

He is the father of active British hammer thrower Alex Smith.

International competitions

Year Competition Venue Position Notes
Representing  Great Britain and  England
1986 Commonwealth Games Edinburgh, United Kingdom 1st 74.06 m
European Championships Stuttgart, West Germany 16th (q) 73.58 m
1987 World Championships Rome, Italy 23rd (q) 68.56 m
1988 Olympic Games Seoul, South Korea 23rd (q) 69.12 m
1990 Commonwealth Games Auckland, New Zealand 2nd 73.52 m

References

  1. ^ a b "Biographical Information". Olympedia. Retrieved 13 June 2025.
  2. ^ "Results". Sunday Sun (Newcastle). 9 August 1981. Retrieved 13 June 2025 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  3. ^ "AAA, WAAA and National Championships Medallists". National Union of Track Statisticians. Retrieved 12 June 2025.
  4. ^ "AAA Championships (men)". GBR Athletics. Retrieved 12 June 2025.
  5. ^ Evans, Hilary; Gjerde, Arild; Heijmans, Jeroen; Mallon, Bill; et al. "Dave Smith". Olympics at Sports-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on 18 April 2020.
  6. ^ "1986 Athletes". Team England.
  7. ^ "England team in 1986". Commonwealth Games Federation. Archived from the original on 19 April 2019. Retrieved 6 October 2019.
  8. ^ "1990 Athletes". Team England.
  9. ^ "England team in 1990". Commonwealth Games Federation. Archived from the original on 4 April 2019. Retrieved 6 October 2019.
  10. ^ "Athletes and results". Commonwealth Games Federation. Archived from the original on 29 November 2021. Retrieved 6 October 2019.