On Saturday morning, a familiar scenario took place. Elite fencers past and present came together to teach youngsters about the sport. It was something five-time Olympian Peter Westbrook put in place for the Peter Westbrook Foundation, which he established in the early 1990s. Now, the foundation honors his life and will continue his work.
When Westbrook passed away on Nov. 29 at the age of 72, he left behind a legacy almost impossible to calculate. In addition to his own athletic achievements, which included an Olympic bronze medal and 10 Pan Am Games medals, and the Olympians he introduced to the sport — among them medalists Lauren Scruggs, Keeth Smart, Erinn Smart, Daryl Homer and Ibtihaj Muhammad — there are generations of New York City kids who learned the sport of fencing as well as discipline and focus they carried into their lives and their communities.
“We had a beautiful remembrance for Peter,” said Erinn Smart, who was in attendance on Saturday. “We had the children write down notes of what Peter meant to them and we made a tribute wall for Peter. The words included ‘loving,’ ‘innovator,’ [and] ‘warrior.’ Not just the children, but the parents as well because he touched so many lives.”
Dr. Alpha Alexander, one of the founders of the Black Women in Sport Foundation, met Westbrook when she was working with the YWCA of the USA, introduced by Westbrook’s Olympic teammate, Mika’il Sankofa. They discussed Westbrook’s plans for the foundation.
“He saw a way to involve kids that would not normally have an opportunity to experience the sport of fencing,” said Alexander. “With Peter’s passing, a giant has been lost in the world. He has touched many lives.”
Some of the young fencers who participated in the Peter Westbrook Foundation earned athletic scholarships at various colleges and universities. They then returned and volunteered with the program. Keeth Smart, now a senior vice president at Chelsea Piers and a married father of two, said he was a volunteer coach almost every Saturday morning from the age of 16 until about two years ago and still drops in occasionally. His sister, Erinn Smart, executive director of strategic partnerships at Dotdash Meredith and a married mother of two, still goes almost every Saturday morning. Still a competitive fencer, Daryl Homer, shows up whenever he’s in New York City.
“That’s the culture that Peter set — everyone must give back,” said Keeth. “I learned so much from him about the art of compassion and competitiveness and being disciplined. He was so disciplined and organized, and he made everyone feel special.”
Keeth and Erinn Smart were among the earliest participants with the foundation. As they progressed, Keeth and Westbrook would train together and become teammates toward the end of Westbrook’s competitive days.
“He helped mentor us through the whole Olympic journey,” said Keeth, a three-time Olympian. He and Erinn both won silver medals at the 2008 Olympics in their respective team events. “Peter was elated for our success.”
Erinn, a current foundation board member, doesn’t really remember a world without Westbrook. She describes him as a friend, teacher, mentor and motivator.
“What I learned on the strip, I use off the strip — teamwork, resilience and even when you’re knocked down, you can get back up at any time,” Erinn said. “You can learn from the losses. It gave me confidence in myself, knowing that I can do great things, whether it’s in fencing or not. Peter taught that belief system and knowing that you can achieve so much if you put your mind to it.”
This past summer, Keeth and his family went to the Paris Olympics to see Scruggs compete and make history as the first Black female fencer to win an individual medal (foil) and first Black fencer to win Olympic gold (team foil). Peter could not be there, but Keeth kept him updated throughout.
“It was one of my happiest moments in my Olympic career, seeing Lauren do so well and her mother sharing that she got into fencing when she read an article about me and Erinn and found out we were part of the Peter Westbrook Foundation,” he said. “I shared that in real time with Peter when he was FaceTiming me and wanted to know every single update.”
Gymnast Wendy Hilliard met Westbrook in the 1980s when both were athlete representatives on the U.S. Olympic Committee. He was very supportive when she launched the Wendy Hilliard Gymnastics Foundation in 1996. “It’s amazing what he’s done with his athletes,” said Hilliard.
Westbrook was an outstanding coach. While some fencers moved to other coaches as they progressed, he coached Akhnaten Spencer-El through the 2000 Olympics. Spencer-El became a fencing coach, working with the USA Fencing Olympic team and spending more than a decade on the coaching staff at Columbia University. He is currently Homer’s coach.
Homer, a silver medalist in saber at the 2016 Olympics, said he started with the foundation at the age of 11. Through fencing, he has gained confidence, discipline, empathy and camaraderie, and feels he would be a totally different person without the Peter Westbrook Foundation. As he progressed in the sport, it gave him a sense of ease being a Black man in a predominantly white sport.
“Part of the foundation is you are exposed to Black Olympians in the sport of fencing,” said Homer. “From when I was 11 years old, I saw Keeth Smart, Erinn Smart, Akhi Spencer-El, Ivan Lee, Peter, Mika’il Sankofa, Bob Cottingham, who’d all been to the Olympic Games. Growing up and seeing that, I felt that if I listened to my elders and I dedicated myself to the craft, I could possibly do that too.
“Peter always acknowledged that we were underrepresented in the sport, but he always made sure that we knew that we belonged,” he added.
Erinn promises the foundation will continue because Westbrook taught them well. “We were taught by the master,” she said. “His spirit and his legacy lives in us. No one can ever fill Peter’s shoes, but we will try our best.”
Westbrook is survived by wife Susann, stepson Dorian Miles, sister Vivian, grandchildren, extended family and generations of fencers.