Phylis Smith (née Watt, born 29 September 1965) is a female former sprinter from Great Britain who won an Olympic bronze medal in the

4 x 400 metres relay 4 (four) is a number, numeral and digit. It is the natural number following 3 and preceding 5. It is the smallest semiprime and composite number, and is considered unlucky in many East Asian cultures. In mathematics Four is the smallest c ...

Barcelona 1992 The 1992 Summer Olympics ( es, Juegos Olímpicos de Verano de 1992, ca, Jocs Olímpics d'estiu de 1992), officially known as the Games of the XXV Olympiad ( es, Juegos de la XXV Olimpiada, ca, Jocs de la XXV Olimpíada) and commonly known as ...

. In 1994, she won a

European Championships The European Championships is a multi-sport tournament which brings together the existing European Championships of some of the continent's leading sports every four years. The inaugural edition in 2018 was staged by the host cities of Berlin, ...

bronze medal in the 400 metres.

Career

Smith was born in

Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1.145 million in the city proper, 2.92 million in the West ...

, England. She placed third over 100 metres at the 1989 AAAs National Championships and won the 1990 UK National title at 200m (also 2nd in the 100 m). However, it would be in the 400 metres that she would find international success. In 1991, along with Lorraine Hanson, Linda Keough and

Sally Gunnell Sally Jane Janet Gunnell (born 29 July 1966) is a British former track and field athlete, active between 1984 and 1997, who won the 1992 Olympic gold medal in the 400 metres hurdles. During a golden 24-month period between 1992 and 1994, Gunne ...

she was a member of the UK 4 × 400 m relay quartet that finished fourth in the final of the

World Championships A world championship is generally an international competition open to elite competitors from around the world, representing their nations, and winning such an event will be considered the highest or near highest achievement in the sport, game, ...

in Tokyo, setting a UK national record that would stand for 16 years. Smith's individual breakthrough came at the 1992 Olympic Games in Barcelona, when she ran a lifetime best of 50.40 secs in her semi-final to move to second on the UK all-time list behind

Kathy Cook Kathryn Jane Cook (née Smallwood; born 3 May 1960) is a former elite athlete, specialising in sprint and sprint relays. She is one of the most successful female sprinters in British athletics history. She is three-times an Olympic bronze meda ...

and reach the Olympic final. In the final she placed eighth in 50.87. Later she teamed up with Sandra Douglas,

Jennifer Stoute Jennifer Elaine "Jenny" Stoute (born 16 April 1965) is female English former sprinter. She represented Great Britain at the 1988 Olympic Games in Seoul and the 1992 Olympic Games in Barcelona, where she won a bronze medal in the 4x400 metres ...

and Gunnell, to win a bronze medal in the 4 × 400 m relay. Smith ran a fine first leg to put the UK in the lead. At the 1993 World Championships in Stuttgart, she withdrew from the individual 400 m but returned for the relay to win a bronze medal with Tracy Goddard, Keough and Gunnell. Smith won another bronze medal at the 1994 European Championships in Helsinki, this time in the individual 400 metres, in 51.30 secs. The race was won by the Olympic Champion Marie-Jose Perec. The British 4 × 400 m relay squad narrowly missed a medal finishing fourth. At the Commonwealth Games she was fourth in the 400m final in 51.49, before winning a gold medal in the relay, after the disqualification of original winners, Australia. She concluded the 1994 season at the World Cup in London, placing fourth in the 400 metres, in 51.36, before teaming up with Linda Keough, Melanie Neef and Sally Gunnell to win the 4 × 400 m relay. The British squad were well in front at the first changeover, after another excellent first leg by Smith. Smith returned from injury to earn selection for her second

Olympic Games 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 1996. In Atlanta, she reached the quarter-finals of the 400 metres. Her last major championships was the 1997 World Indoors in Paris, where she reached the 400m semi-finals and finished sixth in the 4 × 400 m final in a new UK record. Earlier in the 1997 indoor season, she had broken the UK indoor record for 400 metres with 51.69 in Birmingham, to improve Sally Gunnell's three-year-old mark of 51.72. Smith's record would last for four years until

Katharine Merry Katharine Merry (born 21 September 1974) is an English former sprinter. She won the bronze medal in the 400 metres at the 2000 Sydney Olympics and was the fastest woman in the world over 400 m in 2001, with her career best of 49.59 seconds. Sh ...

ran 50.53 in 2001. As of 2015, Smith's 50.40 best, ranks her 6th on the UK all-time list over 400 metres.

National titles

AAA Championships The AAA Championships was an annual track and field competition organised by the Amateur Athletic Association of England. It was the foremost domestic athletics event in the United Kingdom during its lifetime, despite the existence of the officia ...

**400 m:

1993 File:1993 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The Oslo I Accord is signed in an attempt to resolve the Israeli–Palestinian conflict; The Russian White House is shelled during the 1993 Russian constitutional crisis; Czechoslovakia is peace ...

1996 File:1996 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: A Centennial Olympic Park bombing, bomb explodes at Centennial Olympic Park in Atlanta, set off by a radical Anti-abortion violence, anti-abortionist; The center fuel tank explodes on TWA Flight 8 ...

UK Athletics Championships The UK Athletics Championships was an annual national championship in track and field for the United Kingdom, organised by the British Athletics Federation. The event incorporated the 1980 Olympic trials for the British Olympic team. The venue f ...

**200 m:

1989 File:1989 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The Cypress Street Viaduct, Cypress structure collapses as a result of the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake, killing motorists below; The proposal document for the World Wide Web is submitted; The Exxo ...

1992 File:1992 Events Collage V1.png, From left, clockwise: 1992 Los Angeles riots, Riots break out across Los Angeles, California after the Police brutality, police beating of Rodney King; El Al Flight 1862 crashes into a residential apartment buildi ...

**400 m:

AAA Indoor Championships The AAA Indoor Championships was an annual indoor track and field competition organised by the Amateur Athletic Association of England. It was the foremost indoor domestic athletics event during its lifetime. The event was first held in 1935, fol ...

**400 m:

1997 File:1997 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The movie set of ''Titanic'', the highest-grossing movie in history at the time; ''Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone'', is published; Comet Hale-Bopp passes by Earth and becomes one of t ...

International competitions

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Smith, Phylis 1965 births Living people Sportspeople from Birmingham, West Midlands English female sprinters British female sprinters Olympic athletes for Great Britain Olympic bronze medallists for Great Britain Olympic bronze medalists in athletics (track and field) Athletes (track and field) at the 1992 Summer Olympics Athletes (track and field) at the 1996 Summer Olympics Medalists at the 1992 Summer Olympics Commonwealth Games medallists in athletics Commonwealth Games gold medallists for England Athletes (track and field) at the 1994 Commonwealth Games World Athletics Championships athletes for Great Britain World Athletics Championships medalists European Athletics Championships medalists Olympic female sprinters Medallists at the 1994 Commonwealth Games