Cleaning out my mailbox of news postings:
Fencer from Brooklyn Earns Top World Ranking
March 28, 2003
By LENA WILLIAMS
For a brief moment last Thursday, the fencers at the New
York Fencers Club put down their swords, flipped up their
mesh masks and stared at what must have seemed like an
apparition.
Standing before them in jeans and a T-shirt was 24-year-old
Keeth Smart, the first American ever to be ranked No. 1 in
the world in men's saber.
Earlier this month Smart, whom many fencers at the club
remember as the skinny black kid from Brooklyn with - they
thought - limited prospects in saber, had achieved the
unthinkable in American fencing circles.
At a world competition in Athens on March 8, Smart's
second-place finish vaulted him from ninth to first in the
saber ranking, edging Stanislav Pozdniakov of Russia, who
won the Olympic gold medal in saber in 1996. Pozdniakov won
the event in Athens, but Smart's 13 points were enough to
propel him to the No. 1 ranking.
Under federation rules, the best five results of two
European and two non-European competitions, plus the world
championship, are calculated for the ranking. Entering the
World Cup event in Athens, Smart's best results were first,
second, fifth and ninth. With his second in Athens, he
overtook Pozdniakov.
When Smart emerged from the fifth-floor elevator at the
Fencers Club on West 25th Street last Thursday night, he
was greeted with a round of applause. On a table was a cake
with "Congratulations Keeth" scrawled in pink icing.
Smart knew about the cake. But the spontaneous applause
from his colleagues caught him by surprise.
"I'm fortunate to be the first American ranked No. 1,"
Smart said. "All these years, I thought Peter Westbrook,
having won an Olympic bronze medal" - in 1984 - "had broken
into the No. 1 ranking. But apparently this has never
happened before."
Smart's achievement is even more remarkable because he is
considered an amateur in a sport increasingly dominated by
professionals .
"He is the only No. 1 in the world who is not a
professional," said Yuri Gelman, Smart's coach. "He
graduated college, has a full-time job and practices three,
sometimes four, times a week. All of the best fencers in
the world do not work. They receive money from the
government or sponsors. They only have to fence. Keeth is
unique because he is a real amateur."
Smart took two months off after graduating from St. John's
University in 2000, then got a job in the finance
department at Verizon.
"I was working full time and as a new employee, I didn't
want to get off on the wrong foot by asking for time off
from work to fence," said Smart. "I needed to establish a
relationship with my employer and my colleagues before I
started asking for time off."
Although he missed most of the 2001 season, he discovered
that he was still on the national team and decided to
compete in the world championships that year. He finished
21st in individual saber and the team finished eighth.
Smart realized the American saber team had a realistic
chance of qualifying for the 2004 Olympics. So he went to
his employer with a proposition.
"I asked my boss if the company would allow me to train,"
recalled Smart. "That meant having to miss work some
Fridays and Mondays to allow me to travel to and from
bouts. They agreed.
"I'm lucky," said Smart. "Very few employers would give you
so much time off to pursue your dream. I have friends in
fencing who've all but quit fencing because they have to
work."
Smart has always been somewhat of an anomaly in the sport.
At 18, he was ranked No. 1 in the open seniors division and
fourth in the 20-and-under junior division. As a freshman
at St. John's, he won the N.C.A.A. title in saber.
"That was unheard of at the time for an 18-year-old," said
Smart.
But Gelman, a former saber competitorr from Ukraine and
coach of St. John's fencing team, said Smart was also
inconsistent.
Last season, Smart fenced five world cup tournaments and
made it to the finals in each, a first for him. This year,
he has made six world cup finals in a row. Now, the Keeth
Smart who used to show up at tournaments overseas with a
camera to videotape his opponents finds himself being
videotaped by other competitors.
"Things like that help give you an edge with the judges,"
said Smart. "Fencing is often subjective in terms of
whether a touch goes right or left. If you don't have the
respect of the judges or are a realistic contender to win,
the judges will give the edge to the fencer with Germany or
Europe on their back."
Smart quickly changes the subject when the 2004 Olympics is
brought up.
"I know a lot of others consider me a medal contender, but
I don't think of myself as that right now because I think
there is a lot of room for improvement," said Smart. "I
would just like to make the Olympic team. That would be
enough for me."
http://www.nytimes.com/2003/03/28/sp...ml?ex=10498596
87&ei=1&en=e59fd4d4b5e1a017
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