HSI an

initialism An acronym is a word or name formed from the initial components of a longer name or phrase. Acronyms are usually formed from the initial letters of words, as in ''NATO'' (''North Atlantic Treaty Organization''), but sometimes use syllables, as ...

for Hudson Smith International, is an elite

track and field Track and field is a sport that includes athletic contests based on running, jumping, and throwing skills. The name is derived from where the sport takes place, a running track and a grass field for the throwing and some of the jumping events ...

training group and team centered on former

UCLA The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California. UCLA's academic roots were established in 1881 as a teachers college then known as the southern branch of the California St ...

coach John Walton Smith and sports agent/attorney Emanuel Hudson. The group was formed in 1996 after the former 1972 Olympian had led

Quincy Watts Quincy D. Watts (born June 19, 1970) is an American former athlete, and two time gold medallist at the 1992 Summer Olympics. Career Born in Detroit, Michigan, Quincy Watts attended the University of Southern California (USC) where he excelled ...

and Kevin Young to 1992 Olympic gold medals. Among the members of the group are Olympic medalists Maurice Greene,

Ato Boldon Ato Jabari Boldon (born 30 December 1973) is a Trinidadian former track and field athlete, politician, and four-time Olympic medal winner. He holds the Trinidad and Tobago national record in the 50, 60 and 200 metres events with times of 5.64, ...

Allen Johnson Allen Kenneth Johnson (born March 1, 1971) is an American former hurdling athlete who won the gold medal in the 110 metre hurdles at the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta, Georgia. He is also a four-time world champion. Born in Washington, D.C. ...

Tasha Danvers Tasha De'Anka Danvers (born 19 September 1977) is a British Olympic bronze medallist, who finished in third place in the 400 metres hurdles at the 2008 Beijing Olympics. She was born in London to two athletes, Dorrett McKoy and Donald Danvers, ...

, Inger Miller, Jon Drummond and Dawn Harper. From its inception, the team dominated global sprinting events for a decade. Members of the team have combined to run world class relay marks under the HSI banner. Team members were known for their

braggadocio Braggadocio may refer to: *Braggadocchio, a fictional character in the epic poem ''The Faerie Queene'' *A braggart or empty boasting *Braggadocio (rap), a type of rapping *Braggadocio (typeface), a typeface *Braggadocio, Missouri Braggadocio is ...

or trash talking, but their accomplishments backed up their words. As

world record A world record is usually the best global and most important performance that is ever recorded and officially verified in a specific skill, sport, or other kind of activity. The book ''Guinness World Records'' and other world records organization ...

holder in the prestigious

100 metres The 100 metres, or 100-meter dash, is a sprint race in track and field competitions. The shortest common outdoor running distance, the dash is one of the most popular and prestigious events in the sport of athletics. It has been conteste ...

, Greene was the most publicized of the athletes. Greene virtually ran the table of World Athletics Championships and

Olympics The modern Olympic Games or Olympics (french: link=no, Jeux olympiques) are the leading international sporting events featuring summer and winter sports competitions in which thousands of athletes from around the world participate in a var ...

in that event from 1997 to 2001, his closest competitor at that level frequently being Boldon. Johnson had a similar winning streak in the

110 metres hurdles The 110 metres hurdles, or 110-metre hurdles, is a hurdling track and field event for men. It is included in the athletics programme at the Summer Olympic Games. The female counterpart is the 100 metres hurdles. As part of a racing event, ten hur ...

between 1995 and 2003. The two combined for what might have been the greatest post race celebration stunt in 2004 at the

Adidas Track Classic The Adidas Track Classic is an American track and field athletics meeting which has taken place annually in Carson, California since 2005. The meeting forms part of the USA Track & Field Visa Championship Series and is also one of the few area mee ...

when Greene, coming back from injuries won his 100 metres race then took off his shoes as if they were on fire. With a national TV audience watching,

Larry Wade Larry Wade (born November 22, 1974 in Giddings, Texas) (Graduated from Elgin High School) is an American former track and field athlete who specialized in the 110 metres hurdles. His personal best is a time of 13.01 seconds, achieved in July 1999 ...

then ran onto the track and put them out with a real fire extinguisher.

American members

* Christian Coleman 2 World Championship Silver Medals, World Indoor Championship Gold Medal, World Indoor Record Holder for the 60 meter dash * Dalilah Muhammad Olympic Gold Medal, 2 World Championship Silver Medals *

English Gardner English Gardner (born April 22, 1992) is an American track and field sprinter who specializes in the 100-meter dash. Her personal best of 10.74 seconds, set in 2016, ranks her in the top ten all-time for the distance. Career She was born in Ph ...

1 Olympic Gold Medal, 2 World Championship Silver Medals * Dawn Harper 2 Olympic medals, 1 gold, 2 World Championship Medals *

Kristi Castlin Kristi Castlin (born July 7, 1988) is an American track and field athlete who specializes in the 100 metres hurdles. She won a bronze medal at the 2016 Olympics. Her personal best for the event is 12.50 seconds, set on July 8, 2016 during the ...

1 Olympic Bronze Medal * Michael Norman 2 World Junior Championship Gold Medals, World Indoor 400m Record Holder *

Dezerea Bryant Dezerea Bryant (born April 27, 1993) is an American sprinter competing in the 100 metres and 200 m. She was the 200 m national champion in 2019. At the 2019 World Athletics Championships in Doha, she placed 5th in the 200 m and earned a bronze ...

1 World Championship Silver Medal * Jon Drummond 2 Olympic medals, 1 gold, 2 World Championship gold medals *

Torri Edwards Torri Edwards (born January 31, 1977) is an American sprinter. She competes in 100 and 200 meters, winning an Olympic medal in 4×100-meter relay in Athletics at the 2000 Summer Olympics, 2000. In 2003, she won six medals in major international ...

1 Olympic medal disqualified due to Marion Jones, 4 World Championship medals, 2 gold *

Kenneth Ferguson Kenneth Ferguson (born March 22, 1984) is an American sprinter and hurdler who specializes in the 400 metres, 110 and 400 metre hurdles. He won three gold medals at the 2003 Pan American Junior Athletics Championships, in the 110 metre and 400 ...

* Maurice Greene 4 Olympic medals, 2 gold, 5 World Championship gold medals, World record 100 metres *

Regina Jacobs Regina Jacobs (born August 28, 1963 in Los Angeles) is an American former middle-distance runner from Los Angeles. She had an extended career that included two IAAF World Championships in Athletics silver medals and an indoor world championship ...

2 World Championship silver medals *

Olympic gold medal, 5 World Championship medals, 4 gold * Lawrence Johnson Olympic silver medal * Inger Miller 1 Olympic gold medal, 5 World Championship medals, 3 gold but 1 disqualified due to Marion Jones * David Neville 2 Olympic medals, 1 gold *

Jason Pyrah Jason Pyrah (born April 6, 1969, in Springfield, Missouri) is an American athlete who participated in the 1500-meter run at the 1996 and 2000 Summer Olympics. He did not qualify for the final in 1996, but did qualify in 2000, placing 10th. As a te ...

Jason Richardson Jason Anthoney Richardson (born January 20, 1981) is an American former professional basketball player who played 14 seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA). Richardson was taken by the Golden State Warriors as the fifth overall pic ...

Olympic silver medal, World Championship gold medal *

2 Olympic gold medals, 2 World Championship medals, 1 gold * Kevin Young Olympic gold medal while setting current World Record 400 metres hurdles, 1 World Championship gold medal * Leonard Scott World Indoor Championship Gold Medal

International members

The members of the training group were not limited to American athletes. Athletes from several countries trained together in

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

. *

Hussein Taher Al-Sabee Hussein Taher Al-Sabee ( ar, حسين طاهر السبع) (born 14 November 1979 in Qatif) is a Saudi Arabian long jumper. His personal best is 8.35 metres, achieved in May 2004 in Modesto, California Modesto () is the county seat and large ...

Hadi Soua'an Al-Somaily Hadi Soua'an Al-Somaily ( ar, هادي صوعان الصميلي, born December 30, 1976, in Ta'if) is a Saudi Arabian athlete. He won the first Saudi silver medal in the Olympics in the 400 metres hurdles, clocking a personal best time of 47.53 ...

Olympic silver medal *

4 Olympic medals, 4 World Championship medals, 1 gold *

Emmanuel Callender Emmanuel Earl Callender (sometimes Callander; born 10 May 1984 in Arouca, Trinidad and Tobago) is a track and field sprint athlete, who competes internationally for Trinidad and Tobago. Callender represented Trinidad and Tobago at the 2008 Sum ...

2 Olympic medals, 1 World Championship medal *

1 Olympic medal * Cathy Freeman trained with the group for a short period of time. 2 Olympic medals, 1 gold, 2 World Championship gold medals *

Anju Bobby George Anju Bobby George (born 19 April 1977) is a retired Indian athlete. Anju Bobby George made history when she won the bronze medal in long jump at the 2003 World Championships in Athletics in Paris. With this achievement, she became the first In ...

first World Championship medal for India *

Jehue Gordon Jehue Gordon (born 15 December 1991) is a Trinidadian track and field athlete who specialises in the 400 metres hurdles. He turned professional on 24 June 2010, and signed a deal with Adidas in August 2010. Formerly a pupil of Belmont Boys' Secon ...

1 World Championship Gold Medal *

Khalifa St. Fort Khalifa Halima St. Fort (born 13 February 1998) is a track and field sprint (running), sprinter who competes internationally for Trinidad and Tobago. She competes in the 100 metres and 200 metres. Born in the United States to Tamika St. Fort, a ...

1 World Championship Bronze Medal *

Martial Mbandjock Martial Mbandjock (born 14 October 1985 in Roubaix) is a French sprinter who specializes in the 100 metres., beijing2008.cn, ret: Aug 26, 2008 His personal best time is 10.06 seconds, achieved in July 2008 in Albi. He won the bronze medal in the ...

* Pilar McShine * Jaysuma Saidy Ndure *

Marie-José Pérec Marie-José Pérec (born 9 May 1968) is a retired French track and field sprinter who specialised in the 200 and 400 metres and is a three-time Olympic gold medalist. Athletics career Pérec won the 1991 World Championships 400 metres title ...

3 Olympic gold medals, 2 World Championship gold medals *

Mohammed Shaween Mohammed Othman Shaween (born 15 February 1986 in Jeddah) is a Saudi Arabian middle distance runner who specializes in the 1500 metres. He received a three-year ban from the sport for doping. He finished eighth at the 2005 Asian Championships ( ...

* Richard Thompson 3 Olympic medals, 1 World Championship medal *

Teddy Venel Teddy Atine-Venel (born 16 March 1985 in Orsay, France) is a French athlete who specialises in the 400 meters The 400 metres, or 400-meter dash, is a sprint event in track and field competitions. It has been featured in the athletics programme ...

Rhonda Watkins Rhonda Watkins (born 9 December 1987) is a Trinidad and Tobago long jumper. She is the former national record holder in the event at 6.82m set in 2007 at the Prefontaine Classic. Career She won the gold medal at the 2006 ...

External links

HSI promo video

French video report

Training demonstration

References

{{Reflist Running clubs in the United States Track and field clubs in the United States Sports teams in Los Angeles Clubs and societies in the United States Athletics clubs in the United States Track and field in California 1996 establishments in the United States