| Medal record | ||
|---|---|---|
Competitor for  United States |
||
| Men's Fencing | ||
| Olympic Games | ||
| Silver | 2008 Beijing | Sabre Team |
Keeth Smart (born July 29, 1978) is a U.S. sabre fencer who became the first American to gain the sport's #1 ranking for males. He is an Olympic medalist at the Beijing Olympics 2008.
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Fencing career
Smart was born in New York City, New York. At the urging of his parents, he began to learn fencing at the Peter Westbrook Foundation, whose founder, Olympic sabre bronze-medalist Peter Westbrook, was his mentor.
Smart graduated from Brooklyn Technical High School in 1996 [1], followed by St. John's University (majoring in Finance) [2], where he was the NCAA sabre champion in 1997 and 1999, and took second-place in 2001.
He was a member of the 1999 Pan American Games bronze-medal team, and has competed in the past 3 Olympic games. In the individual Olympic men's sabre competition, he placed 30th in the 2000 Olympic Games, 15th in 2004, 4th in the team event, 6th in 2008, and he won the silver medal in the team event.
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.
Personal life
Smart's sister Erinn is also an Olympic silver medalist fencer who started fencing with the Peter Westbrook Foundation.
In 2008, Smart suffered from a blood disease called onyalai which is caused by a mycotoxin which he is thought to have caught from food whilst in Africa. With treatment, he was cured a few weeks before competing in Beijing.
In the interim, however, his mother died of cancer.
After winning the silver medal at Beijing, he announced his retirement from sports. [3] He is currently pursuing his MBA at Columbia University.[4] He is married to Shyra Smart, who is also earning her MBA at New York University.
See also
References
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