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Peter Westbrook

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Peter Westbrook
Medal record
Men's Athletics
Representing the  United States
Olympic Games
Bronze medal – third place 1984 Los Angeles Individual Sabre
Pan American Games
Gold medal – first place 1983 Caracas Individual sabre
Gold medal – first place 1995 Mar del Plata Individual sabre
Gold medal – first place 1995 Mar del Plata Team sabre
Silver medal – second place 1975 Mexico City Team sabre
Silver medal – second place 1979 San Juan Individual sabre
Silver medal – second place 1979 San Juan Team sabre
Silver medal – second place 1983 Caracas Team sabre
Silver medal – second place 1987 Indianapolis Individual sabre
Silver medal – second place 1987 Indianapolis Team sabre
Bronze medal – third place 1975 Mexico City Individual sabre

Peter Westbrook (born April 16, 1952) is a former American sabre fencing champion, active businessman and founder of the Peter Westbrook Foundation.

As a former U.S. champion and Olympic medalist, Peter Westbrook came to fencing from an unlikely direction: the inner city. Westbrook's remarkable life began with his Japanese mother, who convinced him to try fencing. As a Newark teenager in the 1960s, Westbrook brought unseen intensity to the sport: anger over his largely missing father, his poverty, and his status as a biracial man in a racist society helped to fuel Westbrook to remarkable heights within his sport. Westbrook became renown for harnessing his anger and used it to his advantage as a competitor.

In retirement, Westbrook would go onto found the Peter Westbrook Foundation, a non-profit that uses the sport of fencing to help guide New York's inner city youth. Through the foundation, many young athletes have benefited from Westbrook's motivational message and gone on to achieve similar success winning national and world fencing titles, as well as succeeding on the Olympic stage. Most, however, identify with – and learn from – a man who kept the very quality that led to his success in athletics and used such talent to contribute and better his community.


Fencing career

Westbrook grew up in New Jersey, and attended Essex Catholic High School, where he took up fencing after being bribed by his mother, and became state champion.[1]

College

For college, he attended New York University on a full scholarship, and graduated in 1975.[1]

In 1973 he won the NCAA fencing championships in sabre.

National championships

He won the U.S. national men's sabre championship 13 times (1974–'75, '79–'86, '88–'89, and '95).[2] He also called it his lucky thirteen for those times.

Pan American Games

He won gold medals at the Pan American Games in 1983 and 1995, silver medals in 1979 and 1987, and a bronze medal in 1975.[3]

Olympics

He won a bronze medal at the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles. He was a member of 5 other Olympic teams as well. Westbrook was the flag bearer for the United States at the 1992 Summer Olympics closing ceremony.[4]

Peter Westbrook Foundation

After his retirement he founded the Peter Westbrook Foundation in New York City, which seeks to guide inner-city youth away from gang violence by having them participate in fencing. Four of his students from the Foundation, Keeth Smart, Kamara James, Ivan Lee, and Erinn Smart fenced in the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens, Greece. Ivan Lee won the 2001, 2003, 2005, 2006 and 2008 sabre national championships, Keeth Smart won the 2004 and 2002 sabre national championships and was ranked # 1 in the world in 2003, Erinn Smart won the 1998, 2002, 2004, 2007 and 2008 women's foil national championships, and Kamara James was ranked # 1 in the world in women's épée in 2004.

Notable Fencers trained by the Peter Westbrook Foundation

Keeth Smart, Ivan Lee, Erinn Smart, Kamara James, Aki Spencer-El, Benjamin Bratton, Dwight Smith, Donovan Holtz, Harvey Miller III, Herby Raynaud, Dwayne Smith, Carlton Henry, Ras Davidson, Marty Williams, Daniel Bak, Ibtihaj Muhammad, Torian Brown, Epiphany Georges, Nzinga Prescod, Carrington Harris, Adam Crompton, Andre Crompton, Ahmed Yilla, Adrian Bak.

Writing

Westbrook wrote his memoirs, Harnessing Anger ISBN 1-888363-39-8, ISBN 1-888363-67-3 in which he describes turning his childhood tendency to fight into a drive to succeed at his sport.

Halls of Fame

Westbrook was indcuted into the New York University Athletics Hall of Fame in 1985.[5]

Westbrook was inducted into the USFA Hall of Fame in 1996.

He was also inducted into the Sports Hall of Fame of New Jersey in 2002.

See also

References

  1. ^ a b Wadler, Joyce. "PUBLIC LIVES; A Saber Rattler Teaching Sportsmanship", The New York Times, September 6, 2000. Accessed October 23, 2007. "He started fencing, at Essex Catholic High School, only because his mother bribed him with $5.... Mr. Westbrook was a statewide champion in high school, received a full athletic scholarship to New York University, attended his first Olympic Games in 1976 at age 24."
  2. ^ [1][dead link]
  3. ^ "Fencing: Pan American Games: Men: Sabre". Sports 123. Retrieved March 22, 2010.
  4. ^ [2][dead link]
  5. ^ "New York University". Nyu.edu. March 17, 2010. Retrieved March 22, 2010.[dead link]
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