MANHATTAN, Kan. Former Wildcat and 2006 NCAA indoor mile champion Christian Smith has remained busy this summer, competing on the European track circuit.
The five-time NCAA All-American from Garfield, Kan., has registered some very impressive times in both the 800- and 1500-meter runs during the month of July. Smith’s summer in Europe began on July 6 in Lucerne, Switzerland with a 3:42.14 in the 1500 and a third-place finish. He continued on to an event in Nuoro, Italy on July 12, where he tallied a 3:39.28 and a third-place finish.
Smith was just getting warmed up as he traveled to Lignano, Italy, on July 16 where he registered a third-place finish in the 800. He finished with a time of 1:44.86 on the Stadio G. Teghil track, which would be the school-record despite one complication.
The record is currently 1:44.8 held by Ken Swenson during the 1970 USA-Germany dual meet. Swenson’s mark is in doubt due to the unknown nature of the time being a hand-time or an electronic time. If Swenson’s time was hand-timed, .24 must be added to the time and Smith’s clocking on July 16 would be the new record.
On July 19, Smith continued on to Liege, Belgium to run his final 800 of the summer, registering a 1:45.92 and a fourth-place finish. On July 22, Smith set the school-record in the 1500 with a 3:38.10, besting the previous mark of 3:38.2 by Jerome Howe in 1972. On Tuesday in Stockholm, Sweden, Smith concluded his summer tour at the DNGalan with a 3:38.78 and a ninth-place finish in the 1500.
All of this adds to his incredible 2006 season. During the indoor campaign, Smith registered the first K-State indoor title since 1993 with his win in the mile. He also captured his third straight Big 12 1,000-meter title and broke a 20-year old collegiate record in the 1,000 with a time of 2:19.57. In his outdoor season, Smith won his first Big 12 800 title and earned his first outdoor All-American citation.
