Francis Ann "Francie" Larrieu Smith (November 23, 1952 in Palo Alto, California) was an American track and field athlete, flagbearer at the Barcelona 1992 for the United States of America. Larrieu-Smith was the first female American athlete to make five Olympic teams, a feat equaled in 2008 by swimmer Dara Torres.[1]
Since 1999 she is cross country coach at the Southwestern University. [2]
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She is the younger sister of American Olympic distance runner Ron Larrieu. She started running at age 13 and ran for the San Jose Cindergals, one of the first youth track clubs for women. She attended Fremont High School (Sunnyvale, California), graduating in 1970 before any school in California had women's track teams. She attended California State University, Long Beach and UCLA. Starting with the 1500 metre title in 1970 at age 17, Larrieu won 21 National Championships and set 13 world indoor records and 35 American records in her career. [3] At the U.S./USSR Indoor meet in 1975, she ran 4:28.5 for the mile run, Indoors, which bettered the standing outdoor World Record at the time.[4]
Smith has a Master's degree in Sports Administration from the University of Texas.[5] She married Jimmy Smith, a professor of kinesiology, in 1980.[6]
She is notable for one of the longest distance running careers, spanning from the 1972 Olympics as a 19 year old running the 1500 metres when it was the longest distance race for women, and again in the 1976 Olympics. She also qualified for the 1980 Summer Olympics that did not participate due to the 1980 Summer Olympics boycott. Her best performance was when she finished 5th at Women's 10000 metres in Seoul 1988 and her final appearance was finishing 12th in the marathon in Barcelona 1992, where as the elder stateswoman of American Track and Field at age 39 she was selected to be the flagbearer in the opening ceremonies.
She was elected into the National Track and Field Hall of Fame in 1998. She was inducted into the National Distance Running Hall of Fame in 1999. Runner's World magazine named her "The Most Versatile runner of the Quarter Century."[7]
| Year | Competition | Venue | Position | Event | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Representing the United States | |||||
| 1987 | World Championships | Rome, Italy | 15th | 10,000 m | 32:30.00 |
| 1988 | Olympic Games | Seoul, South Korea | 5th | 10,000 m | 31:35.52 |
| Olympic Games | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Evelyn Ashford |
Flagbearer for United States Barcelona 1992 |
Succeeded by Bruce Baumgartner |
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