Keeth Smart leads US fencing team to silver medal

American Keeth Smart led the U.S. fencing team to a silver medal in Beijing on Sunday, almost managing an impressive comeback against the defending champion, France.

Smart, 30, has been exposing the sport of fencing to African Americans, and was the first American of any race to achieve the #1 ranking in fencing.

But despite his accomplishments, his participation in the Olympics this year wasn't always a sure thing. Since leading the US team to a fourth place finish in Athens in 2004, his father passed away. Then four months ago, doctors told Smart he had a low platelet count and could die of severe internal bleeding within two days. After two weeks in intensive care, his mother died of cancer. Ironically, Smart's parents were the ones who had encouraged him to take up fencing in the first place.

Since April, Smart has overcome the rare blood disease that nearly killed him, and made his way onto the U.S. Olympic team. Now with a silver medal under his belt, he reflects on the highs and lows of the past year.

"This year has been one of the hardest years of my life as well as one of the greatest years of my life," Smart said in Beijing. "I've been on a rollercoaster," he said. "I'll probably take a deep breath and it will all hit me. I'm still on an emotional high."

Smart's performance gave the American men their first Olympic fencing medal since 1984 and only their second medal in men's team sabre in Olympic history. It was a big turnaround from the 2004 Olympics, where the U.S. just missed the bronze.

Smart was born in New York City and only took up fencing at the urging of his parents. Under the tutelage of Olympic sabre bronze-medalist Peter Westbrook, he mastered his skills and worked his way to the top of the sport while he was working for Verizon.

A graduate of Brooklyn Technical High School in 1996, he won the NCAA sabre champion in 1997 for St. John's University and became the first U.S. fencer ever to rank first in the world in March 2003 with a medal in World Cup competition in Athens, Greece.

Smart's sister, U.S. fencer Erinn Smart, is also a successful athlete, and she helped the women's team win a silver medal in Beijing as well. 

Now that he's won a silver medal in the Olympics, what's the next trick up Smart's sleeve? He's getting ready to start business school at Columbia University.