Although the foot-operation enabled Smith to walk properly, her athletic career appeared to be over because she could not run round a bend without experiencing excruciating pain.
The injury persisted for the rest of the 1993 season and for all of 1994 and 1995.
Despite consulting numerous doctors a remedy was not found.

With the 1996 Olympic Games in Atlanta approaching she decided to move to Atlanta and, because she needed to prove to the Irish selectors that she could still run championships, she returned home to Ireland and won the National 100m hurdle title (without any training for three years).
When she returned to the USA she began a tour of every sports doctor in the region.
Finally, an Atlanta-based orthopaedic surgeon decided to re-examine the foot.
She received a local anaesthetic and in an operation that lasted all of seven minutes the problem became evident.
The operation revealed that a screw that was used to join the broken bone in 1993 had lodged in a tendon, causing the terrible pain.
She was then able to start training again.
Smith then began a rush to try and qualify for the Olympic Games in the following year, only 11 months hence.

With a new and tougher training regime under coach Loren Seagrave she felt that she could qualify for the upcoming Olympic Games – but needed the opportunity to prove it.
With the help of her firm, Coopers & Lybrand she went to South Africa for early season competition and thus began the greatest single-year assault on an Irish athletics record ever seen.
In the four months between March 1996 and the Olympic Games in July 1996 she set six new Irish records for the 400m hurdles as follows: 56.49secs, Cape Town, 22 Mar '96; 56.14ssecs, Santry, 9 June '96; 56.01secs, Santry, 16 June '96; 55.46secs, Padua ITA, 7 July '96; 55.08secs, Raleigh Durham NC, USA, 14 July '96 and 54.93secs, Atlanta Olympic Games, 29 July '96
In the Olympic Games Smith finished third in the first round and thereby qualified for the semi-final where she finished in 5th position, missing the Olympic final by only one place – but had run another Irish record  (See external links, below).
Her performances over the year convinced her to become a full-time athlete to enable her to further her career.
This was not possible without sponsorship but after discussions with her employers, Coopers & Lybrand, they transferred her to their Dublin office and allowed her to work part-time.
The 1997 World Championships were next in her sights and she journeyed to South Africa in January 1997 for warm-weather training.
During one of her training sessions she tore a hamstring (an injury that was to come back to haunt her in subsequent years) and two days later she contracted a virus that seriously affected her health.
After ten days she returned home and in all lost 14 weeks training.
Despite these setbacks the year 1997 was another successful chapter in her career.
She competed with great distinction in the Grand Prix season, competing in the Grand Prix finals of both the 400m Hurdles and 100m Hurdles, finishing 5th in the latter in a time of 13.22secs.
This was a full half-second faster than the Irish record, but the wind at 2.1 m/s was just over the legal limit.
However, she ran superbly in the 1997 World Championships in Athens, finishing 2nd in her heat of the 400m Hurdles in a new Irish record of 54.61secs and then ran fourth in the semi-final to qualify for the final – the first Irish sprinter to achieve this feat.
She finished 7th in the final.
After her exertions in 1997 she was rewarded by being ranked no.2 in the European 400mH lists.

Her performances during that year also earned her 9th place in the 1998 IAAF World ranking lists, and the American magazine Track and Field News ranked her 10th in the world on her overall season.

She returned to Waterford in August 1997 to get married and then decided to try the life of a full-time athlete.
She resigned her position with Coopers and Lybrand and with sponsorship from the Irish Sports Council, the shoe company ASICS and TNT Express Worldwide, she returned to the USA
Although the foot-operation enabled Smith to walk properly, her athletic career appeared to be over because she could not run round a bend without experiencing excruciating pain. The injury persisted for the rest of the 1993 season and for all of 1994 and 1995. Despite consulting numerous doctors a remedy was not found.
With the 1996 Olympic Games in Atlanta approaching she decided to move to Atlanta and, because she needed to prove to the Irish selectors that she could still run championships, she returned home to Ireland and won the National 100m hurdle title (without any training for three years). When she returned to the USA she began a tour of every sports doctor in the region. Finally, an Atlanta-based orthopaedic surgeon decided to re-examine the foot. She received a local anaesthetic and in an operation that lasted all of seven minutes the problem became evident. The operation revealed that a screw that was used to join the broken bone in 1993 had lodged in a tendon, causing the terrible pain. She was then able to start training again. Smith then began a rush to try and qualify for the Olympic Games in the following year, only 11 months hence.
With a new and tougher training regime under coach Loren Seagrave she felt that she could qualify for the upcoming Olympic Games – but needed the opportunity to prove it. With the help of her firm, Coopers & Lybrand she went to South Africa for early season competition and thus began the greatest single-year assault on an Irish athletics record ever seen. In the four months between March 1996 and the Olympic Games in July 1996 she set six new Irish records for the 400m hurdles as follows: 56.49secs, Cape Town, 22 Mar '96; 56.14ssecs, Santry, 9 June '96; 56.01secs, Santry, 16 June '96; 55.46secs, Padua ITA, 7 July '96; 55.08secs, Raleigh Durham NC, USA, 14 July '96 and 54.93secs, Atlanta Olympic Games, 29 July '96
In the Olympic Games Smith finished third in the first round and thereby qualified for the semi-final where she finished in 5th position, missing the Olympic final by only one place – but had run another Irish record  (See external links, below). Her performances over the year convinced her to become a full-time athlete to enable her to further her career. This was not possible without sponsorship but after discussions with her employers, Coopers & Lybrand, they transferred her to their Dublin office and allowed her to work part-time. The 1997 World Championships were next in her sights and she journeyed to South Africa in January 1997 for warm-weather training. During one of her training sessions she tore a hamstring (an injury that was to come back to haunt her in subsequent years) and two days later she contracted a virus that seriously affected her health. After ten days she returned home and in all lost 14 weeks training. Despite these setbacks the year 1997 was another successful chapter in her career. She competed with great distinction in the Grand Prix season, competing in the Grand Prix finals of both the 400m Hurdles and 100m Hurdles, finishing 5th in the latter in a time of 13.22secs. This was a full half-second faster than the Irish record, but the wind at 2.1 m/s was just over the legal limit. However, she ran superbly in the 1997 World Championships in Athens, finishing 2nd in her heat of the 400m Hurdles in a new Irish record of 54.61secs and then ran fourth in the semi-final to qualify for the final – the first Irish sprinter to achieve this feat. She finished 7th in the final. After her exertions in 1997 she was rewarded by being ranked no.2 in the European 400mH lists.
Her performances during that year also earned her 9th place in the 1998 IAAF World ranking lists, and the American magazine Track and Field News ranked her 10th in the world on her overall season.
She returned to Waterford in August 1997 to get married and then decided to try the life of a full-time athlete. She resigned her position with Coopers and Lybrand and with sponsorship from the Irish Sports Council, the shoe company ASICS and TNT Express Worldwide, she returned to the USA
Susan Smith-Walsh