Smith was born in
Vancouver,
British Columbia. She graduated from the
University of British Columbia (UBC) with a B.A. in 1981 and from UBC law school in 1985. She practised law in Vancouver, B.C. She received an honorary doctorate of laws degree from UBC in 2001 for her career in sport and her work in international sport and the law. Smith won a silver medal in the
coxless pair event with
Betty Craig at the
1984 Summer Olympics. She also finished fifth in the
same event at the
1976 Summer Olympics and seventh in
coxed four at the
1988 Summer Olympics. Her participation in the Olympics grants her the
OLY post-nominal letters. Smith won seven
World Championship medals and a
Commonwealth Games gold medal in her career on the Canadian team that spanned from 1976 to 1988. In 2010, she was made a member of the
Order of Canada. In 2012, she was made a member of the
Order of British Columbia. In 2024, she was promoted to an Officer of the Order of Canada. In September 2013 she was elected to succeed
Anita DeFrantz as Vice-President of FISA, the
International Rowing Federation. Smith was elected a vice president of the
Canadian Olympic Committee in 2009. On October 3, 2015 she became the interim president after
Marcel Aubut resigned his position. She was subsequently elected president at the COC Session in November 2015, and in June 2016 was nominated for membership of the
International Olympic Committee. In 2022, Smith was awarded the
Order of Sport, marking her induction into
Canada's Sports Hall of Fame. She was inducted as a builder for the sport of rowing. She Was appointed to the Order of Canada in 2024, with the rank of Officer. Smith is also a member of the Board of the International Council of Arbitration for Sport, the organization that runs the
Court of Arbitration for Sport, headquartered in
Lausanne, Switzerland. ==References==