July 3, 1983 - Calvin Smith breaks the 100m world record

Today is Thursday, July 3, 2025, and on this day in 1983, American sprinter Calvin Smith lowered the 100m world record to 9.93 seconds.

 

In today's episode we will talk about the history of the 100m sprint and Smith's career leading up to that fateful race, then hear from Calvin Smith directly about what it felt like to run the single fastest race of the entire 1980s.

 

This episode was edited and produced by my good friend and confidant, Rob Garcia. Check out his podcast, ⁠Rob on the Run on Youtube⁠, or on Instagram as @robontherun

 

If you enjoyed this episode, make sure to like, subscribe, comment, and share, then connect with me on ⁠Instagram⁠ or through my ⁠website⁠.

 

Bibliography:

• • ⁠https://www.upi.com/Archives/1983/02/03/The-1983-National-Sports-Festival-will-be-used-to/8074413096400/⁠
  • ⁠https://msfame.com/inductees/calvin-smith/⁠
  • ⁠https://trackandfieldnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/Calvin_Smith.pdf⁠
  • ⁠https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iUWW8defMw4⁠
  • ⁠https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ox-FszWWEbk⁠
  • ⁠http://ancientolympics.arts.kuleuven.be/eng/TC002aEN.html#:~:text=The%20stadion%20was%20the%20oldest,in%20Delphi%20177%2C55%20m⁠.
  • ⁠https://vault.si.com/vault/1983/07/11/the-fastest-doubleheader-ever⁠