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Connie Price-Smith
Email Coach Connie Price-Smith Southern Illinois University's men's and women's track teams merge for the first time this season, and Connie Price-Smith will be the head coach. A four-time Olympian, Price-Smith takes over the combined program after spending the last three years as head coach of the Saluki women. She is one of the most decorated women's track and field athletes in SIU history, despite the fact she never participated in the sport until her senior year. Price-Smith began throwing the shot put under the urging of former Saluki track and field standout John Smith, whom she married in 1990. Smith returned to Carbondale to coach the SIU throwers this season. Under Smith's guidance, Connie quickly became a dominant thrower in both the shot put and discus, and as a result, she set several records along the way. Price-Smith currently ranks third all-time at SIU in the outdoor (49" 11.5") and indoor (48' 9.5") shot put. She is also second all-time in the discus (165' 1"). She won Missouri Valley Conference indoor and outdoor championship titles, and garnered all-conference honors in the shot, while being named her team's Most Valuable Player in 1985. Although Price-Smith's stay at SIU was short, her collegiate success fueled an illustrious career which saw many milestones. After graduating in 1985, Price-Smith became the first U.S. female athlete in 32 years to win both the shot put and discus at an Olympic Trials (1992). In the shot put alone, she finished first on five consecutive times at Olympic Trial Championship competitions between 1984 and 2000. Although she did not medal at the Olympics, Price-Smith had the highest finish of a U.S. female shot putter since 1960, and narrowly missed the bronze medal by just four inches at the 1996 Olympic Games in Atlanta. She is also the first U.S. woman to be world-ranked in the shot put for five years in a row -- 1995 (6th), 1996 (5th), 1997 (6th), 1998 (3rd) and 1999 (7th). Additionally, she was the first U.S. woman in 35 years to win a medal in that event at a World Championships competition (1995). Throughout her career, Price-Smith has been on 34 international squads, was a member of four teams at the Pan-American Games, where she won a bronze medal in the discus in 1987, a silver in the shot put in 1991, and a gold in the shot put in both 1995 and 1999. A member of two World University Games teams as well, she placed fifth in the discus in 1987. In addition, she was on three Goodwill Games teams, participated in seven IAAP Grand Prix Finals, and is a 25-time national champion in the shot put and discus. Recently retired from a 14+ year professional career, Price-Smith now stands on the other side as a coach. Prior to SIU, she served as a volunteer assistant track and field coach at Ohio State. Shortly after leading the Saluki women to a MVC indoor and outdoor fifth-place showing in her SIU debut two years ago, she was selected as one of five coaches to coach the U.S. team at the IAAF World Junior Championships in Kingston, Jamaica. The USA Junior team brought home 21 medals that year, the most ever won by a Junior or Senior U.S. team. A native of St. Charles, Mo., Price-Smith was inducted into the SIU Sports Hall-of-Fame in 1990, and received the school's Distinguished Alumni Award in 2001. A native of St. Charles, Mo., Price-Smith was inducted into the SIU Sports Hall of Fame in 1990 and received an SIU Distinguished Alumni Award in 2001. Career Achievments • 4-time Olympian (Seoul 1988, Barcelona 1992, Atlanta 1996, Sydney 2000) • 18 Outdoor National Championship Titles (USA T&F National Meet Record holder) • 6 Indoor National Championship Titles • 5 Olympic Trial Championship Titles • 4 World-Rankings in the shot put (6th, 1995; 5th, 1996; 3rd, 1998; 7th, 1999) • First woman to be world-ranked five consecutive years in the shot put in U.S. history • First U.S. woman in 32 years to win both the shot put and discus in an Olympic Trials (1992) • First U.S. woman in 35 years to win a shot put medal in a World Championships (1995) • Highest finish at an Olympic Games by a U.S. women's shot putter since 1960 (1996) • Ranked seventh all-time in the World for combination thrower, shotput and discus • Coached 15 MVC Champions, Three NCAA National Qualifiers and 22 All-MVC Selections • Led SIU to best conference finishes since 1997 (indoor) and 1996 (outdoor). |
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