Keeth Smart

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Keeth Smart
2004 Fencing Olympians from Peter Westbrook Foundation, Keeth Smart, Erinn Smart, Ivan Lee, and Kamara James (l-r)
Personal information
Born (1978-07-29) July 29, 1978 (age 45)
Brooklyn, New York, United States
Height6 ft (183 cm)[1]
Weight165 lb (75 kg)[1]
Sport
SportFencing
Eventsaber
College teamSt. John's University
ClubManhattan Fencing Club[2]
Coached byYury Gelman[1]
Medal record
Men's fencing
Representing  United States
Olympic Games
Silver medal – second place 2008 Beijing Sabre Team

Keeth Thomas Smart[3] (born July 29, 1978) is an American saber fencer, who was the first American to gain the sport's top ranking for males in saber. A three-time Olympian, he won a silver medal at the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing in team sabre.[4][5]

Early life and education[edit]

Smart was born in Brooklyn, New York, and grew up in Flatbush, Brooklyn, New York City.[6] His parents were Thomas R. Smart Jr. (a production manager[6] and later an economist) and Liz Smart (a teacher who had come to the United States from Jamaica).[3][7] At the urging of his parents, he and his younger sister Erinn began to learn fencing at the Peter Westbrook Foundation,[6] whose founder, Olympic sabre bronze-medalist Peter Westbrook, was his mentor.

Smart graduated from Brooklyn Technical High School in 1996.[8] He graduated from St. John's University in New York City in 2001, majoring in finance.[8] He later received his MBA from Columbia University in 2010, and now works as a Senior Vice President for Chelsea Piers Fitness which he had joined in 2017.[6][9]

Fencing career[edit]

Smart's fencing coach was Yury Gelman.[1]

During college, Smart was the NCAA sabre champion in 1997 and 1999, and took second place in 2001.[10]

He was a member of the 1999 Pan American Games bronze medal team.

Smart competed in three Olympic Games in men's saber.[10] He placed 30th in the individual competition in the 2000 Olympic Games. He then placed 15th in the individual competition and 4th in the team competition at the 2004 Olympic Games.[1][10]

He placed 6th in the individual competition at the 2008 Olympic Games, and won a silver medal in the 2008 team event.[1][10] At the 2008 Summer Olympics, in the saber team semi-finals the United States had been losing to Russia 40-35, before Smart outscored Russian Stanislav Pozdnyakov 10-4 for the win, with Team USA beating the Russians 45-44, allowing the Americans to go on to win the silver medal.[11][12] It was the first Olympic medal for the US men's saber team since 1948.[1]

His sister Erinn also earned a silver medal as part of the US women's saber team at the 2008 Olympics.[6][1]

In 2002 and 2004, Smart won the US national sabre championship. In 2003, he became the first American to be named the top-ranked fencer internationally.[1][2][13]

Personal life[edit]

Keeth married Shyra (Cooper) Smart on May 27, 2007. in Chapel Hill, North Carolina.[3] They live in Brooklyn, New York, with their two children. Keeth and his sister Erinn are actively involved in the Peter Westbrook Foundation in New York City.

See also[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i "Keeth Smart". USA Fencing.
  2. ^ a b Robinson, Joshua (July 23, 2008). "Sticking Together, Up to a Point". The New York Times.
  3. ^ a b c "Weddings/Celebrations; Shyra Cooper, Keeth Smart", The New York Times, 27 May 2007.
  4. ^ "Olympics Statistics: Keeth Smart". databaseolympics.com. Archived from the original on 2011-09-28. Retrieved 2012-03-17.
  5. ^ "Keeth Smart Olympic Results". sports-reference.com. Archived from the original on 2020-04-18. Retrieved 2012-03-12.
  6. ^ a b c d e Olivesi, Marine. "'Three Musketeers' from Flatbush say goodbye to high-level fencing", The Columbia Journalist, 14 September 2008.
  7. ^ Curtis Bunn (February 5, 2020). "'Stay Close': PBS film spotlights race, adversity and a black man's rare success in the sport of fencing". NBC News.
  8. ^ a b Profile at US Fencing
  9. ^ Zabonick-Chonko, Rachel (March 30, 2022). "Keeth Smart: The Bottom Line". Club Solutions Magazine.
  10. ^ a b c d "Olympedia – Keeth Smart". www.olympedia.org.
  11. ^ Vecsey, George (August 17, 2008). "Fencer and His Team Rise Above a Lot". The New York Times.
  12. ^ "Turnabout: US saber team wins twice by a point". USA Fencing. August 17, 2008.
  13. ^ Williams, Lena (March 28, 2003). "Fencing; Fencer from Brooklyn Earns Top World Ranking". The New York Times.
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