Southern Illinoise University Athletics
Price-Smith helps SIU earn Olympic Achievement Award
06/15/2011 | 12:00:00 | Track and Field
June 15, 2011
By Bill Ford
SIUSalukis.com
CARBONDALE, Ill. -- Southern Illinois track and field coach Connie Price-Smith has once again helped add to the SIU trophy case.
Southern Illinois will be one of 43 institutions to receive a U.S. Olympic Achievement Award Friday, June 17, during the National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics convention in Orlando, Fla. The US Olympic Committee will present SIU the award based on Price-Smith's involvement in helping the USA Track and Field team win a gold medal during the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, China.
Price-Smith was the assistant women's coach for throws at the 2008 Olympics, where USA athlete Stephanie Brown Trafton won a gold medal in the discus.
A four-time Olympian, Price-Smith has been involved in coaching at the international level since 2004. She will serve as Team USA's head women's coach at the 2011 World Outdoor Championships in Daegu, Korea, and as the assistant women's coach for throws at the 2012 Olympics in London, England.
The U.S. Olympic Achievement Award, which is in its first year, will be presented every two years following an Olympic Games to recognize colleges and universities whose student-athletes and coaches have won Olympic medals.
