Santa Monica High School Girls Track team first coach is Dalal M. Ahmad, a USC graduate doing her second semester of student student teaching . She was placed in charge of the team in 1972 during her second semester of student teaching The Santa Monica Track Club (also known as SMTC) was formed Joe Douglas as a post-collegiate track . By the 1980s, the team came to be a major player in worldwide

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 eve ...

competition, with team members setting numerous World and National records. The membership list reads like a ''

Who's Who ''Who's Who'' (or ''Who is Who'') is the title of a number of reference publications, generally containing concise biographical information on the prominent people of a country. The title has been adopted as an expression meaning a group of not ...

'' of Olympic athletes and the SMTC logo became a recognizable icon on the uniforms of those elite athletes.

History

In its first year of existence, 1968 Olympian from

Puerto Rico Puerto Rico (; abbreviated PR; tnq, Boriken, ''Borinquen''), officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico ( es, link=yes, Estado Libre Asociado de Puerto Rico, lit=Free Associated State of Puerto Rico), is a Caribbean island and unincorporated ...

, Willie Rios joined the club and qualified to run in the

1972 Summer Olympics The 1972 Summer Olympics (), officially known as the Games of the XX Olympiad () and commonly known as Munich 1972 (german: München 1972), was an international multi-sport event held in Munich, West Germany, from 26 August to 11 September 19 ...

. In 1974, member Reid Harter set the firs
American Record
in the road 30 Kilometre run. By 1976, three team members qualified for the

1976 Summer Olympics Events January * January 3 – The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights enters into force. * January 5 – The Pol Pot regime proclaims a new constitution for Democratic Kampuchea. * January 11 – The 1976 ...

. In 1979, a young

Carl Lewis Frederick Carlton Lewis (born July 1, 1961) is an American former track and field athlete who won nine Olympic gold medals, one Olympic silver medal, and 10 World Championships medals, including eight gold. His career spanned from 1979 to 1996 ...

, then known as a top level High School long jumper, joined the club for competitions beyond his collegiate career at the

University of Houston The University of Houston (UH) is a Public university, public research university in Houston, Texas. Founded in 1927, UH is a member of the University of Houston System and the List of universities in Texas by enrollment, university in Texas ...

. Lewis went on to be the dominant force in sprinting and long jump for the next decade. Coached in the off season by his collegiate coach

Tom Tellez Thomas K. Tellez (born 1933) is a renowned track and field (athletics) coach, noted in particular because of his contributions to the sport in the areas of kinesiology, physiology and biomechanics. Life and career Tellez attended Whittier Colleg ...

, other elite sprinters were attracted to the club, including

Carol Lewis Carol LeGrant Lewis (born August 8, 1963) is an American former track and field athlete who specialized in the long jump. She is the 1983 World Championship bronze medalist, and a 4-time US Champion. Her best long jump of 7.04 meters in 1985 is ...

, Carl's sister and University of Houston teammates

Joe DeLoach Joseph ("Joe") Nathaniel DeLoach (born June 5, 1967) is a former American sprinter; the 1988 Olympic champion in the 200 m. Born in Bay City, Texas into a family with 11 sisters and one brother, DeLoach enjoyed running at a young age and desir ...

Leroy Burrell Leroy Russel Burrell (born February 21, 1967) is an American former track and field athlete, who twice set the world record for the 100 m sprint. Early life Burrell grew up in Lansdowne, Pennsylvania, and attended Penn Wood High School, w ...

and

Kirk Baptiste Kirk Baptiste (June 20, 1962 – March 24, 2022) was an American track and field athlete, who mainly competed in the 200 metres. He was born in Beaumont, Texas. He competed for the United States at the 1984 Summer Olympics held in Los Angeles, U ...

. The club developed an impressive record of Olympic and World Championships, limited in many situations because teammates were the closest competition at the highest level. Lewis and Burrell exchanged the prestigious World Record in the

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 ...

four times. Four members of the club, Michael Marsh,

, Floyd Heard and

, representing the Santa Monica Track Club tied the world record in the 4x100 meters relay at the

Herculis The Herculis is an annual track and field meet at Stade Louis II in Fontvieille, Monaco. Previously one of the five IAAF Super Grand Prix events, it is now part of the Diamond League. World records Over the course of its history, five world re ...

meet in

Monaco Monaco (; ), officially the Principality of Monaco (french: Principauté de Monaco; Ligurian: ; oc, Principat de Mónegue), is a sovereign city-state and microstate on the French Riviera a few kilometres west of the Italian region of Lig ...

. The record lasted for four days until it was surpassed by a team representing the USA that consisted of three of the SMTC members, with

Dennis Mitchell Dennis Allen Mitchell (born February 20, 1966) is an American former college and international track and field athlete, who was a member of the gold medal-winning team in the 4 x 100 meters relay race at ...

replacing Heard. The same four members set the World Record in the 4 x 200 metre relay, set at the

Mt. SAC Relays The Mt. SAC Relays are an annual track and field festival held primarily at Hilmer Lodge Stadium on the Mt. San Antonio College campus in Walnut, California. The Relays are held in mid-April each year since the first edition held on April 24-25, ...

in 1994. That record lasted over 20 years until it was surpassed by .05 by a team from Jamaica at the

2014 IAAF World Relays The 2014 IAAF World Relays were held in May 2014 in Nassau, Bahamas. The event was the first edition of the IAAF World Relays. There were five events for each gender. In men's and women's 4 x 100 metres and 4 x 400 metres, the event served as a q ...

. Also Kevin Young's World Record in the

400 metre hurdles The 400 metres hurdles is a track and field hurdling event. The event has been on the Olympic athletics programme since 1900 for men and since 1984 for women. On a standard outdoor track, 400 metres is the length of the inside lane, once ...

set in winning the

1992 Summer Olympics 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 ...

stood until 1 July 2021. The club was elected into the

Hall of Fame in 2011.

Foundation

The club is funded through the Santa Monica Track Club Foundation, founded by Ed Stotsenberg (who had the personalized license plate SMTC 1), an early Masters runner who joined the club in the mid-1970s and became its president.http://www.santamonicatrackclub.com/main_foundation.htm Santa Monica Track Club

Notable members

- 1 Olympic medal *

- 1 Olympic Gold Medal, 2 World Championship Gold Medals, 2 time World Record holder

Cletus Clark Cletus Clark (born January 20, 1962) is a retired male hurdler from the United States, best known for winning the gold medal in the men's 110 metres hurdles at the 1991 Pan American Games The 1991 Pan American Games were held in Havana, Cuba fr ...

* Brian Cooper * Christian Cushing-Murray *

- 1 Olympic Gold Medal * Jean Destine - 1996 Olympian * Mike Durkin *

Danny Everett Danny Everett (born November 1, 1966) is an American former track and field athlete who competed in sprinting events, specializing in the 400 metres. He won bronze medals in the 400m at the 1988 Olympic Games and at the 1991 World Championship ...

- 1 Olympic Gold Medal, 1 Bronze, 1 World Championship Gold Medal * Gary Fanelli - 1988 Olympic Games Marathon , a member of SMTC,1973 and 1974 *

Michelle Finn-Burrell Michelle Bonae Finn-Burrell (born May 8, 1965, in Orlando, Florida) is an American former sprint athlete from Orlando, Florida. She graduated from Oak Ridge High School in Orlando. She set the Florida State University record for the 100 mete ...

- 1 Olympic Gold Medal *

Johnny Gray John Lee Gray Jr. (born June 19, 1960) is a retired American world class 800 meter runner from the mid-1980s to the late 1990s and the holder of the 600m world best. A four-time-Olympian (1984-1996) in 1985 he set the US record of 1:42.60 at a ...

- 1 Olympic medal, current United States record

800 metres The 800 metres, or meters ( US spelling), is a common track running event. It is the shortest commonly run middle-distance running event. The 800 metres is run over two laps of an outdoor (400-metre) track and has been an Olympic event since th ...

* Todd Harbour * Reid Harter * Floyd Heard * Mihály Iglói *

Bayano Kamani Bayano Kamani (born 17 April 1980 in Houston, Texas) is a Panamanian hurdler who specialises in the 400 metres hurdles. He is the South American record holder in that event. He competed in the 2004 Olympic Games placing 5th in the finals. In 200 ...

* Felix Kitur *

- 9 Olympic Gold Medals, 1 Silver, 8 World Championship Gold Medals, 3 time World Record holder

- 1 World Championship Bronze medal * Steve Lewis - 3 Olympic Gold Medals, 1 Silver * André Action Jackson *

Khadevis Robinson Khadevis Robinson (born July 19, 1976 in Fort Worth, Texas) is an American retired middle-distance runner and currently coaches both the men's and women's cross country teams along with being an assistant track coach for the Ohio State Buckeyes. ...

Lewis Johnson Lewis Johnson is an American sports commentator and sports reporter. He is one of the few sports broadcasters to have worked for ABC, NBC and CBS. He has also worked for Westwood One, ESPN, the Pac-12 Network and Turner Sports. Lewis is a gra ...

* Earl Jones - 1 Olympic medal * Jerald Jones * Jeff Jirele *

George Kersh George Kersh (born March 7, 1968) is a former world-class runner and current high school running coach. High school While running for Pearl High School Kersh broke the national high school record twice in the 800m, with a best time of 1:46:58 ...

* David Mack * Mike Marsh- 2 Olympic Gold Medals, 1 Silver, 1 World Championship Gold Medal * Bill McChesney * Mark McNeil *

* Prince Mumba * McClinton Neal * Willie Ríos * LaMont Smith - 1 Olympic Gold medal * Jenny Spangler *

Henry Thomas Henry Jackson Thomas Jr. (born September 9, 1971) is an American actor. He began his career as a child actor and had a lead role in the film ''E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial'' (1982), for which he won a Young Artist Award and received Golden Globe ...

* Delisa Walton-Floyd *

Mark Witherspoon Donald Mark Witherspoon (born September 3, 1963, in Chicago) is an American former sprinter. He joined his high school track team after having success as a cornerback on the football team. In college, he was primarily a 200 m and 400 m runner. ...

* Kevin Young - 1 Olympic Gold Medal, 1 World Championship Gold Medal, former World Record holder

References

External links

Official Santa Monica Track Club website
{{Authority control Running clubs in the United States Track and field clubs in the United States Sports in Santa Monica, California Sports teams in Los Angeles Clubs and societies in the United States Athletics clubs in the United States Track and field in California 1972 establishments in California Organizations based in Santa Monica, California