Rebecca "Beki" Smith (née Lee, born 25 November 1986) is an Australian

race walker 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 ...

. Lee finished fourth in the 20-kilometre walk at the 2012 Oceania & Australian Race Walking Championships and represented

Australia at the 2012 Summer Olympics Australia competed at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London, from 27 July to 12 August 2012. Australian athletes have competed in every Summer Olympic Games of the modern era. The Australian Olympic Committee sent a total of 410 athletes to the Gam ...

in the same event. She came first in the

2018 Commonwealth Games The 2018 Commonwealth Games, officially known as the XXI Commonwealth Games and also known as Gold Coast 2018, was an international multi-sport event for members of the Commonwealth that were held on the Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia, ...

at the Gold Coast. She is the only Aboriginal race walker in Australia.

Early life

Nicknamed "Babsie" and "Beki", Lee was born on 25 November 1986, in

New South Wales ) , nickname = , image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , es ...

. Lee grew up in Mt Druitt in Sydney's western suburbs and attended Minchinbury Public School and Colyton Public School, before going to high school at Rooty Hill High School and St Marys Senior High School. Lee started race walking when she was seven years-old and became more serious about the sport when she was ten years-old. Her personal best in an international competition was tenth place in the 20-kilometre race walk at the 2011 IAAF Race Walking Challenge, hosted in Taicang, China, finishing with a time of "1:35.35".

Tertiary education

For her tertiary studies, Lee attended the

Australian College of Physical Education 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 Au ...

, where she commenced a Bachelor of Sports Business in 2007. As of 2012, she is enrolled in the degree via correspondence, while living in

Canberra Canberra ( ) is the capital city of Australia. Founded following the federation of the colonies of Australia as the seat of government for the new nation, it is Australia's largest inland city and the eighth-largest city overall. The ci ...

, Australia.

Athletics

Lee's specialty is the 20-kilometre road walk event, with a pre-race ritual that includes listening to

Bob Dylan Bob Dylan (legally Robert Dylan, born Robert Allen Zimmerman, May 24, 1941) is an American singer-songwriter. Often regarded as one of the greatest songwriters of all time, Dylan has been a major figure in popular culture during a career sp ...

. A member of the Asics West athletics club, Lee holds a scholarship with the

Australian Institute of Sport The Australian Institute of Sport (AIS) is a high performance sports training institution in Australia. The Institute's headquarters were opened in 1981 and are situated in the northern suburb of Bruce, Canberra. The AIS is a division of th ...

. Between 2003 and 2010, she was coached by Kevin Stone, then Marilyn Pearson, with Brent Vallance then taking over coaching duties, a job he holds as of 2012. Lee was selected to represent Australia at the 2012 Summer Olympics in the 20 km walk event. At the conclusion of the race she made headlines when her now husband, Daniel Smith, publicly proposed to her.

Placements

*Tenth in the 20-kilometre walk at the 2011 IAAF Race Walking Challenge in Taicang, China *Tenth in the 2011 World University Games in Shenzhen, China *Second in the 20-kilometre walk at the 2011 Australian Race Walking Championships in Melbourne, Australia *Did not finish in the 20-kilometre walk at the 2012 IAAF World Race Walking Challenge in Taicang, China *Fourth in the 20-kilometre walk at the 2012 Oceania & Australian Race Walking Championships in Hobart, Australia *Disqualified from the 20-kilometre walk at the 2012 IAAF World Race Walking Cup in Saransk, Russia She is recognized in the

Australian Olympic Committee 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 ...

list of Australian Indigenous Olympians.

References

External links

*
Beki 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 register ...

* * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Smith, Beki Living people 1986 births Australian female racewalkers Athletes (track and field) at the 2012 Summer Olympics Olympic athletes for Australia Australian Institute of Sport track and field athletes Sportswomen from the Australian Capital Territory Indigenous Australian Olympians World Athletics Championships athletes for Australia Athletes (track and field) at the 2018 Commonwealth Games Commonwealth Games competitors for Australia 20th-century Australian women 21st-century Australian women