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A Step Ahead Of The Plan

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By BILL WARD

The Tampa Tribune

Published: August 4, 2008

TAMPA - The plan called for him to qualify for the U.S. Olympic track and field trials, gain some experience among America's top quarter-milers, and, after running a round or two, bow out gracefully and return to the University of Florida to begin his junior year.

But Calvin Smith II didn't follow the plan. At age 20, the former Freedom High track star made a serious detour. He went and made the Olympic team as part of the 4x400-meter relay pool. And now he's headed to Beijing as the youngest member on the U.S. men's track and field roster with a shot of earning a gold medal.

Certainly, having a father named Calvin Smith helped the younger Smith reach the Olympic Games ahead of schedule. As a former 100-meter world record holder, Olympic gold and silver medalist and world champion, the elder Smith surely gave his son a genetic advantage and shared his invaluable expertise as an elite sprinter.

And having a coach like Mike Holloway, who has guided the career of several Olympians from across the globe, didn't hurt either.

Ultimately, however, it was Calvin Smith who earned his place on the team. He was the one who, in the 400-meter finals of the trials, ran like his pants were on fire and went from dead last to fifth place to punch his ticket to Beijing.

"The key with Calvin is him showing up and believing he can do it," Holloway said. "When he's healthy and confident, he can compete with anyone in the race."

But Smith came perilously close to never running in the trials, let alone the Olympics. In fact, he was fortunate to reach the NCAA outdoor championships.

At the first meet of the indoor season, Smith strained his left hamstring muscle and two months later he tweaked it again at the Penn Relays. At the Southeastern Conference Championships, he managed to finish third in the 400 but at the all-important NCAA East Region in Tallahassee, where berths were earned for the NCAA finals, the hamstring problem flared up again when he failed to escape the first round.

Smith wound up 14th out of the 31 East Region qualifiers in one of his worst times of the season, 46.98 seconds. Smith already had qualified for the trials but without the NCAA finals to use as a springboard, he considered ending his season.

"After I ran that day at the regional, I was like 'No, I don't even want to go to trials,'"Smith said. "I figured 'What's the point?' I wasn't running well and the leg was still bothering me."

But Holloway says he was never worried about Smith's chances of reaching the NCAA finals in Des Moines, Iowa, as an at-large bid. Once all the athletes had declared their intention to run at the NCAA meet, Smith landed a spot. With some rest and additional physical therapy in Gainesville, he was on his way to the national championships.

Once there, Smith worked his way through the rounds and, in the finals, turned in a lifetime best of 45.14 seconds to finish fifth. After helping the Gators take eighth in the 4x400 and third in the 4x100, Smith finished the meet with his eighth All-America title and, healthy once more, owned the momentum needed to compete in the Olympic trials.

"It was a great turnaround for him," said Smith's father. "But I've told him throughout his running career that you have to chase each meet and just go from there because you never know what's going to happen.

"One meet you may be running not as well as you want to and the next meet could be the turning point of your season."

At the trials in Eugene, Ore., Smith seemed to gain more confidence each round of the 400. There, the races were more tactical, with entrants more concerned about place than time. Smith took second in his opening heat and, in the semifinals, reached the title race by taking third. In that race, he beat NCAA runner-up Lionel Larry of the University of Southern California.

In the trials' 400 finals, Smith came off the final curve in dead last place. But knowing his chances of making the team as part of the relay pool would improve if he could finish in the top six, he kicked in the final 90 meters and passed three runners - including one at the tape - to take fifth.

"When I was running in last place, I thought 'This is not the place I saw myself being in,'" Smith said. "I was thinking 'I'm not going to the Olympics.' But I kept running and fighting and I started gaining on people. That's when I thought there was a chance.

"When the names came up on the scoreboard I was hoping for sixth and then mine popped up there fifth and I said 'All right! I'm going!'"

Having come this far, Smith says he wants to run in the Olympic qualifying rounds. But he also knows much of what he has done since that NCAA East Region meet has been a bonus and that he still has Olympic hopes to pursue after this one.

"I'd be disappointed if I didn't run in the qualifying round but if I don't, that's life," Smith said. "It's been a good year and I'm pretty happy with how things have turned out so far. Hopefully, I'll get my chance over there."

Reporter Bill Ward can be reached at (813) 259-7456 or wward@tampatrib.com

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