Included in the list of successes were Olympic gold medalists Lee Evans, Tommie Smith and Ronnie Ray Smith. All the aforementioned also became World Record Holders, Evans' 1968 record in the 400 meters lasted almost 20 years—the first man to break 44 seconds, Smith's World Record in the 200 meters lasted over a decade—the first man to officially break 20 seconds. Winter also coached John Carlos, who can also lay claim to being the first man to break 20 seconds in the 200 meters (though his record was disallowed because of the "brush" type of spikes he used) and Christos Papanikolaou of Greece, who was the first man to clear 18 feet in the pole vault. As a team, San Jose State won the 1969 National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Div I Track Championships; his teams placed in the top 10 14 times. San Jose State also won two NCAA Men's Division I Cross Country Championships in 1962 and 1963 and were runners-up in 1961. Winter served as an assistant coach for the U.S. team at the 1964 Olympic Games in Tokyo.
