Willie James Smith III (February 28, 1956 – November 7, 2020)[2] was an American athlete[3] who was the national champion 400 metres runner in 1979-80, and a gold medal winner at the 1984 Olympics in the 4 × 400 m relay.

[4] Smith arrived at Auburn as a nationally renowned high-school sprinter from his time at Uniondale High School, New York.

He then switched to the longer distance of 400 m., prompted by injuries incurred in shorter sprints, and by the emergence of competition from up-and-coming sprinters like Harvey Glance.

[4] Despite this, Smith was a successful enough 100 m. sprinter to be an alternate for the United States 4 × 100 m. relay team at the 1976 Montreal Olympics.

Having finished fifth in the 100 m. final at the United States Olympic Trials, he was placed in the third qualifying position up to 80 m. of the race.

[14] Smith was also a member of winning United States 4 × 400 m. relay teams in the 1979 and 1981 IAAF Athletics World Cups.

However, he collided with a competing Soviet Union runner on the third leg, falling, leaving the American final leg runner, the great 400 m. hurdler Ed Moses, with no chance of victory despite his valiant but vain effort to catch the leaders - the team eventually finished down the field.

[19][20] Smith was a very successful competitor at 400 metres at the USA National Track and Field Championships between 1979 and 1983:[21]