Helsinki bound: Miles Smith to run for USA at World Championships

Miles Smith to run for USA at World Championships

Miles Smith's magical 2005 carpet ride is still going strong.

Smith has been selected for the United States track and field team that will compete in the World Championships in Helsinki, Finland, Aug. 6 to 14.

Smith, who placed sixth in the USA Championships Saturday in Carson, Calif., will run on the Team USA 1,600-meter relay team.

"I'm real excited," said Smith, who recently completed his sophomore season at Southeast Missouri State. "It's like a dream come true."

Southeast coach Joey Haines had expected Smith to make the U.S. squad after his sixth-place showing Saturday. The top three finishers qualified for the open 400 at the world meet, with three more runners filling out the relay pool.

But, with Smith the only collegiate runner in the field of nine during Saturday's finals -- the other eight were mostly high-profile professionals -- Haines feared that politics might play a role in who was selected.

"We felt that getting sixth would put him on the team, but they're not obligated to take the top six, and there are always politics involved," Haines said. "It's great the way everything turned out, because Miles certainly did everything he had to do in order to make the team.

"I think they [USA track and field officials] are excited about Miles and his potential for the future. This is a tremendous accomplishment for Miles. This [the World Championships] is the second-biggest meet as far as track and field, just behind the Olympics. He is bringing great recognition to our track program and to the university."

A laughing Smith recalled the nervous hours he and Haines experienced after they flew back from California, arrived at the St. Louis airport Sunday night and began the drive to Cape Girardeau.

"I was real nervous, a lot more nervous than when I was running," Smith said. "I knew I should be on the team, but I just didn't know how it would turn out."

Finally, at about 12:30 a.m. -- just as Haines and Smith were about to exit the highway after entering the Cape Girardeau city limits -- Haines' cell phone rang. On the line was a USA track and field official with the good news.

"It was a long trip back," Haines said. "There's way more pressure on Miles waiting for the call than when he's running. When he's running, he can control what's going on. With this, we just had to wait."

Added Smith: "I was so happy when that call came. I've been calling everybody I know ever since. It's still a shock, but it's kind of sinking in now."

Haines said that, to his knowledge, Smith is the first Southeast track and field athlete to ever make the U.S. team for the World Championships. Rob Thomas, a Southeast star in the mid-1980s, represented the U.S. during several meets in Europe, but never at the World Championships.

"It's a great honor, but it's very deserving," Haines said. "When you're a kid involved in track and field, you dream of representing your country, wearing the official USA colors. Miles is going to get to do that."

Haines said Smith has been told he is guaranteed of running on the 1,600 relay team in the preliminary round of the World Championships -- the top two 400-meter runners sit out that round -- then the U.S. coaches determine who runs in the finals, although it is generally the top four from the USA Championships.

Regardless, Smith will receive any kind of medal that the relay team achieves, whether he runs in the finals or not.

"The U.S. is always favored in that event. If they win the gold, Miles gets a gold," Haines said. "The only thing he won't be able to get is any money, since he's an amateur, but there is a lot of money at stake in this meet for the professionals."

Smith, who this season placed fifth in the NCAA finals to earn All-American honors, has undergone a transformation from unheralded high school athlete to among the world's elite runners in a period of barely two years.

"All of this is coming way earlier than I thought. I thought this might be happening when I was a senior," said Smith, who has never before traveled outside the country. "But it's been great, and now I really feel like I can do anything. I can't wait to get over there."