Anne Rosemary Smith (31 August 1941 – 9 November 1993), was a sprinter and middle distance runner, who specialised in the

1500 metres The 1500 metres or 1,500-metre run (typically pronounced 'fifteen-hundred metres') is the foremost middle distance track event in athletics. The distance has been contested at the Summer Olympics since 1896 and the World Championships in Athletic ...

and

mile The mile, sometimes the international mile or statute mile to distinguish it from other miles, is a British imperial unit and United States customary unit of distance; both are based on the older English unit of length equal to 5,280 English ...

events. She represented

Great Britain and Northern Ireland The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

at the 1964 Tokyo Olympic Games. In 1967, Smith broke two world records in one race, running 4:17.3 for the 1500 metres and 4:37.0 for the mile. These were the first 1500 m and mile world records to be ratified by the

IAAF World Athletics, formerly known as the International Amateur Athletic Federation (from 1912 to 2001) and International Association of Athletics Federations (from 2001 to 2019, both abbreviated as the IAAF) is the international governing body for ...

Career

Smith was born in Amersham, England. She was coached by Frank Mitchell and

Gordon Pirie Douglas Alistair Gordon Pirie (10 February 1931 – 7 December 1991) was an English long-distance runner. He competed in the 5000 m and 10,000 m events at the 1952, 1956 and 1960 Olympics and won a silver medal in the 5000 m in 1956, placing fo ...

, Pirie had won silver in the 5000m at the Olympics in Melbourne in 1956 but Anne Smith's preferred distance, 1500m, did not become part of the Olympic Games programme for women until 1972. She had begun running as a 17-year-old and won the WAAA's 880y title four times from 1964 to 1967. At the 1964 Olympic Games in

Tokyo Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, with an estimated 37.468 ...

, she reached the final of the 800 metres (women were not permitted to run any distance longer than 800 m at the time). She set a British record of 2:04.8 in the semi-final. In the final, she finished eighth in 2:05.1, the race was won by her teammate

Ann Packer Ann Elizabeth Packer MBE (born 8 March 1942) is an English former sprinter, hurdler and long jumper. She won a gold medal in the 800 metres and a silver in the 400 metres at the 1964 Summer Olympics. Early life In 1959 Packer won the English ...

who recorded a world record of 2:01.1, second was France's

Maryvonne Dupureur Maryvonne Samson Dupureur (24 May 1937 – 7 January 2008) was a French middle-distance runner. Competing in the 800 m event she won silver medals at the 1964 Olympics and 1967 European Indoor Games; she also took part in the 1960 and 1968 Olym ...

(2:01.9) and third was

Marise Chamberlain Marise Ann Millicent Chamberlain (born 5 December 1935) is a New Zealand former middle-distance runner. She is the only New Zealand woman to win an Olympic medal in track athletics ( Lorraine Moller won a medal in the marathon). She set world ...

of New Zealand (2:02.8). In 1966, she won a bronze medal for

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

in the 880 yards at the

Commonwealth Games The Commonwealth Games, often referred to as the Friendly Games or simply the Comm Games, are a quadrennial international multi-sport event among athletes from the Commonwealth of Nations. The event was first held in 1930, and, with the exce ...

in Kingston, she ran 2:05.0. The winner was

Abby Hoffman Abigail Golda Hoffman, (born February 11, 1947) is a Canadian former track and field athlete. Hockey Hoffman is Jewish, and was born in Toronto. She learned to skate when she was three. In the mid-1950s when she was nine, she wanted to play h ...

of Canada (2:04.2), with Australia's Judy Pollock second (2:04.5). Having set a British women’s mile record of 4:44.2 in 1966, Smith set a world record for the mile in May 1967, improving Marise Chamberlain's four and a half year old mark of 4:41.4, when she ran 4:39.2 to win the Surrey Championship at Wimbledon Park on 13 May, also setting a British record of 4:21.0 for the 1500 metres en route. On 3 June 1967, in Chiswick, London, Smith broke two world records in one race, these times of 4:17.3 (1500m) and 4:37.0 (mile) were the first records to be officially ratified by the

Personal life

Smith worked as a PE teacher at

Sacred Heart High School, Hammersmith Sacred Heart High School is a Catholic secondary school and sixth form with academy status for girls, located in Hammersmith, London, England. Admissions Sacred Heart is a popular girls' school for ages 11–18, located in Hammersmith. The for ...

Haberdashers' Aske's School for Girls Haberdashers' Girls' School is an independent day school in Elstree, Hertfordshire. It is often referred to as "Habs" (or "Habs Girls" to distinguish it from the neighbouring Haberdashers' Boys' School). The school was founded in 1875 by the Wo ...

, and Baradene College in

Auckland Auckland (pronounced ) ( mi, Tāmaki Makaurau) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. The List of New Zealand urban areas by population, most populous urban area in the country and the List of cities in Oceania by po ...

. She died in London on 9 November 1993, aged 52, following a brain haemorrhage.

Achievements

International Championships: 1964: 8th 800 m Olympics 1966: 3rd 880y Commonwealth Games 1968: 4th International CC 1971: 45th International CC (for New Zealand) UK Internationals: 12 (1963-6) National Championships: Won WAAA 880y 1964-7. Personal bests: 440y 56.0 (1967), 800m 2:03.2 (1966), 1500m 4:17.3 (1967), mile 4:37.0 (1967).

References

British Olympic Association BiogWorld record progression at athletix.org
{{DEFAULTSORT:Smith, Anne Rosemary 1941 births 1993 deaths Athletes (track and field) at the 1964 Summer Olympics English female middle-distance runners Olympic athletes of Great Britain Athletes (track and field) at the 1966 British Empire and Commonwealth Games Athletes (track and field) at the 1970 British Commonwealth Games Commonwealth Games bronze medallists for England Commonwealth Games medallists in athletics People from Amersham Medallists at the 1966 British Empire and Commonwealth Games