Erinn Smart (born January 12, 1980Erinn Smart
, USA Fencing. Accessed July 27, 2012.) is an American foil fencer who was a member of the United States fencing team at the

2008 Summer Olympics The 2008 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXIX Olympiad () and officially branded as Beijing 2008 (), were an international multisport event held from 8 to 24 August 2008, in Beijing, China. A total of 10,942 athletes fro ...

Beijing Beijing, Chinese postal romanization, previously romanized as Peking, is the capital city of China. With more than 22 million residents, it is the world's List of national capitals by population, most populous national capital city as well as ...

, where she competed in the women's individual and team

foil Foil may refer to: Materials * Foil (metal), a quite thin sheet of metal, usually manufactured with a rolling mill machine * Metal leaf, a very thin sheet of decorative metal * Aluminium foil, a type of wrapping for food * Tin foil, metal foil ma ...

events. Smart is , weighs , and is coached by Buckie Leach. Smart's brother Keeth is also a nationally ranked competitive fencer who also started fencing with the Peter Westbrook Foundation.

Early life and education

Smart was born in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...

, and lived on Ocean Avenue in

Brooklyn Brooklyn is a Boroughs of New York City, borough of New York City located at the westernmost end of Long Island in the New York (state), State of New York. Formerly an independent city, the borough is coextensive with Kings County, one of twelv ...

. Before taking up fencing, she had taken ballet, ice skating, tennis and track. After her father, an employee at ''

Sports Illustrated ''Sports Illustrated'' (''SI'') is an American sports magazine first published in August 1954. Founded by Stuart Scheftel, it was the first magazine with a circulation of over one million to win the National Magazine Award for General Excellen ...

'', learned about a program aimed at encouraging minority participation in fencing, she began to take up the sport at age 11 at the Peter Westbrook Foundation, whose founder, Olympic saber bronze-medalist

Peter Westbrook Peter Jonathan Westbrook (April 16, 1952 – November 29, 2024) was an American saber fencer. He was a 13-time national and 3-time Pan American Games saber champion, five-time Olympian, and an Olympic bronze medalist. He founded the Peter West ...

, has been her mentor. Her brother Keeth, 18 months her senior, took up the sport six months later., US Fencing. Accessed August 5, 2008.Robbins, Liz
"OLYMPICS; Sibling Rivalry Foils the Obstacles"
''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'', July 8, 2004. Accessed July 27, 2012. "Erinn had flourished in ballet, ice skating, tennis and track, and at age 11, she discovered she could combine her grace and athleticism in fencing. Six months later, her brother, scrawny and often the last picked for baseball teams, joined her." Smart graduated from

Brooklyn Technical High School Brooklyn Technical High School, commonly called Brooklyn Tech and administratively designated High School 430, is a public specialized high school in New York City that specializes in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. It is on ...

, as a chemistry major, in 1997. She attended

Barnard College Barnard College is a Private college, private Women's colleges in the United States, women's Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college affiliated with Columbia University in New York City. It was founded in 1889 by a grou ...

Columbia University Columbia University in the City of New York, commonly referred to as Columbia University, is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Churc ...

Manhattan Manhattan ( ) is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the Boroughs of New York City, five boroughs of New York City. Coextensive with New York County, Manhattan is the County statistics of the United States#Smallest, larg ...

, graduating in 2001 with a degree in economics. She fenced for the Columbia Lions fencing team. She was recognized as an NCAA

All-America The All-America designation is an annual honor bestowed on outstanding athletes in the United States who are considered to be among the best athletes in their respective sport. Individuals receiving this distinction are typically added to an Al ...

n at Columbia. She worked for Lord Abbett, a financial firm, following the 2004 Olympics. She earned an MBA from the

Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania The Wharton School ( ) is the business school of the University of Pennsylvania, a private Ivy League research university in Philadelphia. Established in 1881 through a donation from Joseph Wharton, a co-founder of Bethlehem Steel, the Wharton ...

in 2013.

Fencing career

Smart was the United States National Champion in 1998, 2002, 2004, 2007, and 2008, and was ranked 11th at the 2003 World Championships. Both Smarts won at the 2004 U.S. Fencing National Championships in

Atlanta, Georgia Atlanta ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Georgia (U.S. state), most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. It is the county seat, seat of Fulton County, Georg ...

, with Erinn edging Hanna Thompson 13–11 in the semifinals, and then defeating three-time former Olympian Ann Marsh by 15–7 in the tournament final to take the title. Smart was selected as an alternate for the United States team at the

2000 Summer Olympics The 2000 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XXVII Olympiad, officially branded as Sydney 2000, and also known as the Games of the New Millennium, were an international multi-sport event held from 15 September to 1 October ...

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Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

, but did not participate in the competition. She outpointed sisters Iris and Felicia Zimmerman to earn a spot on the United States team at the

2004 Summer Olympics The 2004 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXVIII Olympiad (), and officially branded as Athens 2004 (), were an international multi-sport event held from 13 to 29 August 2004 in Athens, Greece. The Games saw 10,625 athletes ...

Athens Athens ( ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Greece, largest city of Greece. A significant coastal urban area in the Mediterranean, Athens is also the capital of the Attica (region), Attica region and is the southe ...

Greece Greece, officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. Located on the southern tip of the Balkan peninsula, it shares land borders with Albania to the northwest, North Macedonia and Bulgaria to the north, and Turkey to th ...

. Both Erinn and her brother Keeth were part of the United States team at the

Susannah Cahalan Susannah Cahalan (born January 30, 1985) is an American writer and author, known for writing the memoir '' Brain on Fire: My Month of Madness'', about her hospitalization with a rare autoimmune disease, anti-NMDA receptor encephalitis. She publis ...

"OUR HOPE FOR GOLD: BIG APPLE'S BEST READY TO ROCK BEIJING"
''

New York Post The ''New York Post'' (''NY Post'') is an American Conservatism in the United States, conservative daily Tabloid (newspaper format), tabloid newspaper published in New York City. The ''Post'' also operates three online sites: NYPost. ...

'', August 3, 2008. Accessed August 5, 2008. Both won silver medals in their team events.

References

External links

Athlete Profile: Erinn Smart

Smart Helps Americans to Surprise Silver
{{DEFAULTSORT:Smart, Erinn 1980 births Living people American female foil fencers Barnard College alumni Fencers at the 2004 Summer Olympics Fencers at the 2008 Summer Olympics Olympic silver medalists for the United States in fencing Fencers from Brooklyn Wharton School alumni Medalists at the 2008 Summer Olympics Brooklyn Technical High School alumni Fencers at the 2003 Pan American Games Medalists at the 2003 Pan American Games Pan American Games silver medalists for the United States in fencing Pan American Games bronze medalists for the United States in fencing Columbia Lions fencers 21st-century American sportswomen

Early life and education

Fencing career

See also

References

External links