About Guinn Smith
Lived 1920 – 2004 (aged 83). Guinn Smith was an American athletics competitor.
Owen Guinn Smith (May 2, 1920 – January 20, 2004) was an American athlete, the 1948 Olympic champion in the pole vault.
Born in McKinney, Texas, Smith moved to California when he was a child. He was originally a high jumper, but UC Berkeley, the university he wanted to attend, already had a strong high jumping team, so he took up pole vaulting. He won the NCAA championships in 1941, the year before he graduated as a history major. During the remainder of World War II, Guinn Smith served as an air force pilot in Asia.
Smith, the 1947 national pole vault champion, was sent to the 1948 Olympics in London. During a rainy competition, Smith took the gold in his last attempt for 4.30 m (14 ft 1 in).
He died at age 83 in San Francisco of emphysema.
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Important facts
Related people
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Contemporaries
People whose lives overlapped Guinn Smith's
Frequently asked questions
Who was Guinn Smith?
athletics competitor (1920–2004)
When was Guinn Smith born?
Guinn Smith was born on 2 May 1920 in McKinney.
When did Guinn Smith die?
Guinn Smith died on 20 January 2004 in San Francisco.
What was Guinn Smith's occupation?
Guinn Smith was an athletics competitor.
What nationality was Guinn Smith?
Guinn Smith was American.
Sources & further reading
Cite this page
APA: Biography.guide. (2026). Guinn Smith. https://biography.guide/guinn-smith/
MLA: "Guinn Smith." Biography.guide, https://biography.guide/guinn-smith/.
Chicago: "Guinn Smith." Biography.guide. https://biography.guide/guinn-smith/.
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