Dane Alex Bird-Smith ( born Dane Alex Bird-Smith ; born July 15, 1992 , Kippa-Ring , Queensland , Australia ) is an Australian track and field athlete specializing in race walking . Bronze medalist of the 2016 Olympic Games at a distance of 20 km. Champion of the Commonwealth Games 2018 . Champion of the Universiade (2015). Five-time Australian champion.
 Dane Bird-Smith | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| general information | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Full name | Dane alex bird-smith | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Date and place of birth | July 15, 1992 (27 years) Kippa Ring , Queensland , Australia | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Citizenship |  Australia | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Growth | 187 cm | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Weight | 72 kg | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Club | Queensland Racewalking Club | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Trainers | David smith | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Sports career | 2009 n. at. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| IAAF | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Personal records in walking | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 20 km | 1: 19.28 (2017) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| International medals | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Biography
Dane's father, David Smith , was also an athlete who participated in the 1980 and 1984 Olympic Games in race walking. In Moscow, he was disqualified at a distance of 20 km and descended to 50 km. After 4 years, he finished 10th in a 20 km run. Therefore, his son took the first steps in the sport rather early.
In his youthful years, Bird-Smith specialized in running for 400 meters (personal record 48.99 in 17 years) and even became the Australian junior champion in the 4 × 400 meter relay. He started walking up to help his school in regional competitions (there were no other volunteers) [1] . Under the guidance of his father, he progressed very quickly, and already in 2009, he took 8th place at the 10,000-meter World Junior World Championships . A year later, at the World Junior Championships, Dane was even closer to the pedestal, taking 5th place.
In 2012, he made his debut for the Australian adult national team at the Walking World Cup , where he finished 41nd at a distance of 20 km and won a bronze medal in the team championship.
At the 2013 World Championships he performed much better, taking 11th place. Two years later, he finished 8th in the world championship .
He won the first major victory in 2015 at the Universiade , where he won the run by 20 km, ahead of Canadian Benjamin Thorn by 3 seconds.
Took 4th place in the World Team Walking Championships in 2016, losing 2 seconds to the bronze medalist Spaniard Alvaro Martin . Dane's time, 1: 19.38, was his new personal record and the first result in his career faster than 1 hour and 20 minutes.
At the Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, he again improved his achievement. Bird-Smith covered the distance of 20 km in 1: 19.37, which allowed him to win the bronze medal of the Games. Only two Chinese, Wang Zhen and Cai Zelin, were ahead.
He set a personal record in walking 20 km (1: 19.28) at the 2017 World Championships in London, but this time he took only sixth place.
In April 2018, he won the Commonwealth Games , which were held in his homeland in the Australian Gold Coast . In hot weather, he was 4 seconds ahead of Englishman Tom Bosworth and set a new competition record - 1: 19.34 [2] .
He graduated from the University of Queensland in Brisbane , where he received an education in the field of physical education [3] .
Main results
| Year | Tournament | Location | Discipline | A place | Result |
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| 2009 | World Junior Championship | Bressanone , Italy | walking 10,000 m | 8th | 43.53,62 |
| 2010 | Junior Walking World Cup | Chihuahua , Mexico | walk 10 km | - | Dq |
| Junior World Championships | Moncton , Canada | walking 10,000 m | 5th | 41.32.36 | |
| 2012 | Walking world cup | Saransk , Russia | walk 20 km | 41st | 1: 25.41 |
| 2013 | World Championship | Moscow , Russia | walk 20 km | 11th | 1: 23.06 |
| 2014 | Walking world cup | Taicang , China | walk 20 km | 14th | 1: 20.27 |
| 2015 | Universiade | Gwangju , South Korea | walk 20 km | 1st | 1:21 pm |
| World Championship | Beijing , China | walk 20 km | 8th | 1: 21.37 | |
| 2016 | World Team Walking Championship | Rome , Italy | walk 20 km | 4th | 1: 19.38 |
| Olympic Games | Rio de Janeiro , Brazil | walk 20 km | 3rd | 1: 19.37 | |
| 2017 | World Championship | London , United Kingdom | walk 20 km | 6th | 1: 19.28 |
| 2018 | Commonwealth Games | Gold Coast , Australia | walk 20 km | 1st | 1: 19.34 |
| World Team Walking Championship | Taicang , China | walk 20 km | - | DNF |
Notes
Links
- Dane Bird Smith - IAAF Profile (English)
- Dane Bird-Smith profile on all-athletics.com
- Dana Bird-Smith profile on the website of the 2016 Olympic Games