Janell (Smith) Carson - 2009 Kansas Sports Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony

Janell (Smith) Carson enshrined into the Kansas Sports Hall of Fame during the 2009 Induction ceremony. Presenting keynote speaker is Gary Bender, 2008 KSHOF inductee.

Before there was such a thing as organized high school sports for girls in Kansas, there was a young lady named Janell Smith who set records on cinder tracks of southeast Kansas that still have been rarely topped more than four decades later. As a 17-year-old high school junior from Fredonia High School, Smith represented the United States in the 400-meter dash at the 1964 Olympic Games in Tokyo. Smith was a two-time National AAU 440 yard and 400 meter champion in 1964 and 1965. Smith was a qualifier for the 1963 Pan American Games at Sao Paulo in the 80 meter hurdles. Her time of 52.3 seconds in the 400 meters still ranks as the best-ever by a high school age girl in Kansas. Coached by her father, Mead Smith, Janell started running when she was 10 years old and competed in her first national meet at age 14. By her late teens, she held several Junior Olympic records, jumping over 19 feet in the long jump, and running just over nine seconds in the 70-yard hurdles. She didnt start competing in the 400 until one year before the Olympics. She qualified for the semifinals at the Tokyo Games with a time of 55.5, but her American record time of 54.5 in the semifinals left her one-tenth of a second short of qualifying for the finals. Smith was featured on the cover of Sports Illustrated as a high school senior on May 10, 1965. Smith also set the World Record for the indoor 400 meters in 1965. After graduating from Emporia State, Smith spent 35 years as a grade school teacher. Born May 3, 1947 Killeen, Texas. Graduated Fredonia H.S., 1965; Emporia State Teachers College, 1969.

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[kcdude]

She was my 2nd grade teacher for 1/2 yr, but left halfway through the year, to have a child. I remember one time, one of my classmates got into trouble on the playground and tried to run away from her. Needless to say, he was humbled really fast, when Mrs Carson ran him down in no time flat :) What a great teacher she was too :)

Brad Crooks

Olathe, Ks