Dane Alex Bird-Smith (born 15 July 1992) is an Australian

racewalking Racewalking, or race walking, is a long-distance discipline within the sport of athletics. Although a foot race, it is different from running in that one foot must appear to be in contact with the ground at all times. Race judges carefully asse ...

athlete. He competes in the

20 kilometres race walk The 20 kilometre race walk is an Olympic athletics event that is competed by both men and women. The racewalking event is competed as a road race. Athletes must always keep in contact with the ground and the supporting leg must remain straight un ...

, and has a best of 1:19:28 hours for the distance, set in 2017. He competed at the

2016 Rio Olympics ) , nations = 207 (including IOA and EOR teams) , athletes = 11,238 , events = 306 in 28 sports (41 disciplines) , opening = 5 August 2016 , closing = 21 August 2016 , opened_by = Vice President Michel Temer , cauldron = Vanderlei Cordeiro de ...

, where he was the bronze medallist. Bird-Smith represented Australia at the

World Championships in Athletics The World Athletics Championships (until 2019 known as the World Championships in Athletics) are a biennial athletics competition organized by World Athletics (formerly IAAF, International Association of Athletics Federations). Alongside the Ol ...

three times (2013, 2015, and 2017), and has appeared four times at the IAAF World Race Walking Team Championships/Cup. He was the gold medallist 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 2018, the

Summer Universiade The Universiade is an international multi-sport event, organized for university athletes by the International University Sports Federation (FISU). The name is a portmanteau of the words "University" and " Olympiad". The Universiade is referred ...

in 2015 and the

Oceania Race Walking Championships The Oceania Race Walking Championships is an annual race walking competition not only for athletes representing countries from Oceania, organized by the Oceania Athletics Association (OAA). It was established in 2011 and has featured races for sen ...

in 2018 and 2014. He is the son of former Australian Olympic walker David Smith. He holds the Oceanian continental records for the 3000 metres walk and 5000 metres walk. He is now playing AFL for the Kenmore Bears.

Career

Early life and career

The son of David Smith, an international racewalker,

Queensland ) , nickname = Sunshine State , image_map = Queensland in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Queensland in Australia , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , establishe ...

-born Bird-Smith initially took up

athletics Athletics may refer to: Sports * Sport of athletics, a collection of sporting events that involve competitive running, jumping, throwing, and walking ** Track and field, a sub-category of the above sport * Athletics (physical culture), competi ...

but focused on the 400 metres. However he switched to racewalking as a teenager and began to be coached by his father.Gleeson, Michael (2013-08-12)
Bird-Smith walks out of father's shadow
''Sydney Morning Herald''. Retrieved on 2015-07-15. He attended

Indooroopilly State High School Indooroopilly State High School (ISHS), colloquially known as "Indro", is a state high school situated in the south-western suburb of Indooroopilly in Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. The school was founded in 1954, and offers the Internationa ...

and

St Peters Lutheran College , motto_translation = ''Further beyond'' , established = , authority = Queensland Curriculum and Assessment Authority , schooltype = Private school , gender = Co-educatio ...

. Bird-Smith had his first national success in 2008 when he won the Australian

youth Youth is the time of life when one is young. The word, youth, can also mean the time between childhood and adulthood ( maturity), but it can also refer to one's peak, in terms of health or the period of life known as being a young adult. Yo ...

title. Junior-level titles followed the next year and he also made his international debut, placing eight at the 2009 World Youth Championships in Athletics. He repeated as road and track national junior champion in 2010 and set an Australian junior record of 41:32.36 minutes for the

10,000 metres race walk The 10,000 metres race walk is a racewalking event. The event is competed as a track race. Athletes must always keep in contact with the ground and the supporting leg must remain straight until the raised leg passes it. 10,000 meters is 6.21 mil ...

while finishing fifth at the 2010 World Junior Championships in Athletics. He also made his debut at the 2010 IAAF World Race Walking Cup, but was disqualified from the junior race for foot-lifting. He improved further to 41:02.18 minutes in 2011 and also set an Oceanian record of 40:56 minutes in the 10 km road walk discipline to win the exhibition event at the

.Dane Bird-Smith
Tilastopaja. Retrieved on 2015-07-15.

First senior competitions

Bird-Smith began to take part in senior competitions towards the end of 2011 and on his international circuit debut at the Gran Premio Cantones de La Coruña, ending the race in 13th place. His debut in the

event came in December and he recorded a time of 1:26:38 hours. He bettered this on the 2012 IAAF World Race Walking Challenge circuit, setting a time of 1:23:15 hours in

Taicang Taicang is a county-level city under the jurisdiction of Suzhou, Jiangsu province, China. The city located in the south of the Yangtze River estuary opposite Nantong, being bordered by Shanghai proper to the south, while the river also delineat ...

. He ranked 43rd in the senior 20 km race at the 2012 IAAF World Race Walking Cup before winning his first national title in August. A second national title came at the 2013

Australian Athletics Championships The Australian Athletics Championships or Australian Open Track and Field Championships are held annually to determine Australia's champion athletes in a range of athletics events. The championships are the primary qualification trial for athlet ...

, this time in the 5000 m walk – an event in which he also set a best of 18:56.96 minutes to rank third in the world that year. He set a personal best at the Oceanian Championships 20 km race, taking second behind his compatriot

Jared Tallent Jared Tallent OAM (born 17 October 1984) is an Australian race walker and Olympic gold medallist in the 50 km walk from London in 2012. He is a four-time Olympic medallist, three-time World Championship medallist and holds the current Ol ...

and had his first top three finish on the circuit at the Coppa Città di Sesto San Giovanni. A new best of 1:22:03 following at the La Coruña race, where he was fourth overall. This built up to his debut appearance for Australia the

2013 World Championships in Athletics The 14th IAAF World Championships in Athletics (Moscow 2013) () was an international athletics competition held in Moscow, Russia, from 10–18 August 2013. Initially, Russia won the most gold medals to top the table for the first time since 200 ...

, at which he performed well with an eleventh-place finish, marking his entry into the top tiers of international competition, and also outdoing his father's highest placing at the event. He ended 2013 by defending his 20 km national title. In 2016 Dane won a bronze medal in the 2016 Rio olympics. Bird-Smith made some quick improvements in the 20 km event in 2014. After winning his first Oceanian title in February, he walked 1:21:01 for third in

Nomi, Ishikawa is a city located in Ishikawa Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 50,132 in 18,585 households, and a population density of 600 persons per km². The total area of the city was . Geography Nomi is located in southwestern ...

, then achieved a lifetime best of 1:20:27 hours at the 2014 IAAF World Race Walking Cup, ranking 14th. With no other major championships to compete at, he took to the circuit and won the British Grand Prix of Race Walking as well as a third straight Australian 20 km title. He ranked in the global top-25 for the year. In 2015, Bird-Smith placed fifth at both the IAAF Race Walking Challenge Taicang and La Coruña race, setting a new best of 1:20:05 hours at the latter. This preceded his first ever global gold medal, which the

University of Queensland , mottoeng = By means of knowledge and hard work , established = , endowment = A$224.3 million , budget = A$2.1 billion , type = Public research university , chancellor = Peter Varghese , vice_chancellor = Deborah Terry , city = B ...

student achieved at the 2015 Universiade, narrowly overturning the lead of Canada's Benjamin Thorne.Mulkeen, Jon (2015-07-09)
Simbine and Fajdek win World University Games titles in Gwangju
IAAF. Retrieved on 2015-07-15.

Personal bests

3000 metres race walk The 3000 metres race walk is a racewalking event. The event is competed as a track race and was part of the athletics programme for women at the IAAF World Indoor Championships in Athletics until 1993. Athletes must always keep in contact with the ...

– 10:54.70 min (2017) *

5000 metres race walk The 5000 metres race walk is a racewalking event. The event is competed as a track race and was part of the athletics programme for men at the IAAF World Indoor Championships in Athletics until 1993. It is also an event in the World Masters Athle ...

– 18:38.97 min (2016) *

– 38:34.23 min (2017) * 10 kilometres race walk – 39:30 min (2015) *

– 1:19:28 hrs (2017)

National titles

**5000 m walk: 2012 **10,000 m walk: 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017 *

Australian Race Walking Championships Australian(s) may refer to: Australia * Australia, a country * Australians, citizens of the Commonwealth of Australia ** European Australians ** Anglo-Celtic Australians, Australians descended principally from British colonists ** Aboriginal Aus ...

**20 km walk: 2012, 2013, 2014

International competitions

References

External links

*
Dane Bird-Smith
at

Athletics Australia Athletics Australia is the national sporting organisation (NSO) recognised by Sport Australia for the sport of athletics in Australia. First founded in 1897, the organisation is responsible for administering a sport with over 16,000 registered ...

Dane Bird-Smith
at Australian Athletics Historical Results * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Bird-Smith, Dane 1992 births Living people Australian male racewalkers Olympic male racewalkers Olympic athletes of Australia Olympic bronze medalists for Australia Olympic bronze medalists in athletics (track and field) Athletes (track and field) at the 2016 Summer Olympics Medalists at the 2016 Summer Olympics Commonwealth Games gold medallists for Australia Commonwealth Games medallists in athletics Athletes (track and field) at the 2018 Commonwealth Games Universiade gold medalists for Australia Universiade medalists in athletics (track and field) World Athletics Championships athletes for Australia Sportsmen from Queensland University of Queensland alumni Australian Athletics Championships winners Commonwealth Games gold medallists in athletics Medalists at the 2015 Summer Universiade 21st-century Australian people