Keeth Smart

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]

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
Brooklyn, New York, United States
Height6 ft (183 cm)[1]
Weight165 lb (75 kg)[1]
Sport
SportFencing
Event(s)saber
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

Early life and education

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

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

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

References
  1. "Keeth Smart". USA Fencing.
  2. Robinson, Joshua (July 23, 2008). "Sticking Together, Up to a Point". The New York Times.
  3. "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. 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. Profile at US Fencing
  9. Zabonick-Chonko, Rachel (March 30, 2022). "Keeth Smart: The Bottom Line". Club Solutions Magazine.
  10. "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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