Smith-King Inducted Into Hall Of Fame
Branwen Smith-King has been inducted into the Tufts University Athletics Hall of Fame.
As an athlete, Smith-King represented Bermuda at the Commonwealth Games and Pan American Games.
Branwen-Smith, the Bermuda Olympic Association secretary general, was among the sixth class inducted at the Tufts Athletics Hall of Fame Induction Dinner at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Massachusetts, on Friday [June 6].
An article on the university website said: “During 35 years with the Jumbos, Branwen Smith-King became one of the most influential women in Tufts Athletics history.
“A native of Bermuda, she was an Olympic-level athlete in her own right and brought her spirit of competition to Tufts when she was hired as women’s track and field and cross-country coach in 1982.
“She quickly established the Tufts program on a national level, and her student-athletes would win 13 national championships and earn more than 50 All-American honours. She recruited eight-time NCAA national champion Vera Stenhouse, J91, to Tufts.
“Several of her teams earned top-five finishes at NCAA championship meets, including a third place at the 1989 indoor championship.
Smith-King coached Tufts’ first-ever NCAA-qualifying women’s cross-country team in 1999.
“As senior woman administrator for Athletics from 2000 to 2017, she continued to work tirelessly as an advocate for student-athletes.
“Among her achievements were promoting wellness to incoming freshmen, working closely with the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee, and spearheading many DEIJ initiatives.”
Well done Ms.Smith-King!