GILES SMITH: BIG HANDS, BIGGER HEART
By Mike Watkins//Correspondent
At 5-foot-10, Giles Smith is almost a full person shorter than most of the world’s top freestyle sprinters: Nathan Adrian, 6-foot-5; Alain Bernard, 6-foot-5; Cullen Jones, 6-foot-5; James Magnussen, 6-foot-5…you get the picture.
But what the University of Arizona sophomore lacks in size, he more than makes up for in heart…and hands…and feet.
At least that’s what he believes – which is really all that matters – and the results speak for themselves.
“I am one of the smallest sprinters in the NCAA and possibly the smallest on the U.S. National Team,” said Smith, who hails from the Baltimore, Md., area. “Although I may be shorter than a lot of my competitors, I have big hands and feet for my size. I believe that height can be very overrated.
“I have been someone who coaches have said could never be good because I was too short, but it doesn’t matter what size you are as long as you have heart in this sport.”
A 14-time Maryland state record holder and the first Baltimore high school swimmer to swim the 50 free in less than 21 seconds, Smith was the fastest freestyle sprinter coming out of high school in 2009. With over 50 college scholarship offers, he chose the up-and-coming University of Tennessee program but almost immediately felt that something wasn’t quite for him.
He said he had a difficult time finding a support system and quickly realized it wasn’t the best fit for him.
His confidence damaged, he returned to his club, Eagle Swim Team, and worked hard to regain his moxie. Almost a year later, he returned to college and college swimming at the University of Arizona -- the program he had wanted to attend all along. “It took me a little over a year to gain my confidence back,” Smith said. “That was a difficult year because I felt I belonged in college swimming.
My parents were so supportive of me chasing my dreams that I just started to believe in myself again and before you knew it, I was dropping chunks of time like an age grouper.”
It was because of his parents – his mom, in particular, that Smith got involved with the sport in the first place. She took him to Mommy and me swim classes when he was little, and by the age of six, he was enrolled in swim classes.
Now, with a year at Arizona under his belt, Smith said his confidence is at an all-time high – and that showed in his recent results at NCAA Championships.
In addition to helping his teammates win the 200 medley relay (setting a new American record) and a top 5 overall finish, he finished a close second to California’s Tom Shields in the 100 butterfly.
He knows he will see Shields again this summer at Trials – and he’s expecting another battle.
“It’s always fun getting to race Tom as he brings out the best in me. I am looking forward to racing him the rest of my career,” Smith said. “This year at Arizona went very well. I have been blessed with great teammates who have allowed me to improve every day. For the most part, I reached my goals I set at the beginning of the year. I am so thankful to get to wear an A on my cap every day.”
As one of a select few African-Americans in the upper ranks of the sport, Smith said growing up he struggled to find role models of color in swimming. Instead, he looked to his father, who taught him to reach for the stars his whole life.
“He told me when I was nine that one day I would be an Olympic swimmer, and he truly meant it,” Smith said. “I feel that the racial gap is getting smaller in swimming as there are a lot of minorities swimming very fast right now. More progress is needed, but overall, swimming is becoming way more diverse than when I started.”
Having just missed the cut to compete at 2008 Trials in Omaha, Smith said that experience taught him a lot about perseverance and the ups and downs that accompany the sport and life.
This year, he is highly motivated to have the greatest meet of his life and swim to the best of his abilities – and hopefully, that will be enough to make his dream come true.
“Making the U.S. National Team has given me a huge mental boost,” said Smith, who is a journalism major with aspirations of being a television broadcaster some day – possibly calling swimming events in the future. “It for sure has led me to believe that I can compete against the world’s best and succeed.”
