Keeth Smart
Event: Fencing - Men's Saber
Height: 6' 0"
Weight: 165 lbs.
Birthdate: July 29, 1978
Birthplace: Brooklyn, N.Y.
Hometown: Brooklyn, N.Y.
Current Residence: Brooklyn, N.Y.
Coach: Yury Gelman
Personal:
Smart graduated from Brooklyn Technical High School in 1996, where he was a member of the fencing team is freshman and sophomore years. He graduated from St. John's University with a Bachelor of Science degree in Finance in 2001. He competed on the fencing team all four years while in college. He currently works as a finance manager for Verizon Communications. Hobbies include playing tennis, bicycling through New York City, listening to music and reading periodicals. The type of music he currently has on his i-Pod is hip-hop, old-school rap, classical music, classic rock and jazz, as well as Frank Sinatra and Motown artists. Favorite movies are Top Gun, Platoon and Old School. Favorite television shows are The Sopranos, Entourage and Seinfeld. His role models are his parents. Says his mom taught him the importance of faith, hard-work and athletic competitiveness, while his dad taught him the importance of respect, education and taking advantage of the opportunities you get. Says he is extremely optimistic and treats everyone with respect. If you are his friend he says he will do anything to try and help you out. His parents are the late Thomas Smart and Audrey Smart. He has one sister, Erinn, who is also an elite level fencer. Keeth and Erinn began fencing with the Westbrook Foundation, a non-profit founded by six-time Olympian Peter Westbrook to mentor inner-city kids through the sport of fencing. Keeth's first coach and mentor, Westbrook was the last U.S. male Fencer to win an Olympic medal - bronze, in Los Angeles in 1984. Erinn was a member of the 2004 U.S. Olympic Team, where she finished 17th in the individual competition, and she was an alternate for the 2000 U.S. Olympic Team. She was also the silver medalist at the 2003 Pan American Games and was a member of the 1999 World University Games team, where she finished eighth in the individual competition and won the silver medal in the team event. His wife is Shyra.
Competition Record:
2008 - Olympic Games Silver medal in Team Sabre
2008 - Member of the U.S. Olympic Team, Beijing, China
2004 - Olympic Games, Athens, Greece - 30th Individual
2004 - National Champion
2003 - Became the first U.S. Fencer ever to rank No. 1 in the world with his silver medal in World Cup competition in Athens, Greece
