MATT SMITH

Men’s Lightweight Pair (Senior Team)

Men’s Lightweight Four (Pan Am Team)

Hometown: Woodbridge, Va.

Current Residence: Princeton, N.J.

Club Affiliation: Caspersen Training Center

Began Rowing: Woodbridge Senior High School, 1992

Date of Birth: 12/20/77 

Height: 6’0”  

Weight: 160

High School: Woodbridge Senior High School

Undergraduate Education: University of Wisconsin, 2000

Occupation: U.S. Army Infantry Officer

Current Coaches: John Parker, Mike Teti

International Results: Finished 10th in the lightweight pair at the 2007 FISA World Championships...Finished ninth in the lightweight four at the 2004 Olympic Games...Finished seventh in the lightweight four at the 2004 FISA World Cup stop in Lucerne...Finished eighth in the lightweight four at the 2004 FISA World Cup stop in Munich...Finished eighth in the lightweight four at the 2003 FISA World Championships...Finished fifth in the lightweight four at the 2003 FISA World Cup stop in Munich...Won bronze in the lightweight four at the 2003 FISA World Cup stop in Milan...Won bronze in the lightweight eight at the 2002 FISA World Championships...Finished 10th in the lightweight pair at the 1999 FISA World Championships...Served as a spare at the 1998 FISA World Championships...Finished fifth in the lightweight four at the 1998 Nation’s Cup (Under 23 World Championships)...Finished fifth in the lightweight four at the 1997 Nation’s Cup (Under 23 World Championships)...Finished second in the lightweight junior men’s division at the 1996 C.R.A.S.H.-B. World Indoor Rowing Championships.

National Results: Finished second in the lightweight double sculls at the 2007 USRowing National Championships...Finished sixth in the championship four at the 2006 Head of the Charles...Won the lightweight eight at the 2004 Head of the Charles...Won the lightweight four at the 2003 Head of the Charles...Won the lightweight four at the 2002 Head of the Charles...Finished third in the eight at the 2002 USRowing National Championships...Finished fourth in the four at the 2001 Head of the Charles...Finished third in the four at the 2000 Head of the Charles...Finished eighth in the varsity eight at the 2000 Intercollegiate Rowing Association (IRA) Championships...Finished fifth in the varsity eight at the 1999 Intercollegiate Rowing Association (IRA) Championships...Finished third in the lightweight four and lightweight eight at the 1998 USRowing National Championships...Finished second in the second varsity eight at the 1998 Intercollegiate Rowing Association (IRA) Championships...Finished third in the lightweight four and lightweight eight at the 1997 USRowing National Championships...Finished second in the freshman eight at the 1997 Intercollegiate Rowing Association (IRA) Championships.

Personal: Matt is a seven-time national team member...He is currently an Infantry Captain in the U.S. Army...Matt is a graduate of the Army Ranger School and the Army Airborne School...While growing up, he lived in Berlin, Germany, and saw the fall of the Berlin Wall...After the 2004 Olympics, Matt returned to regular military service...In September of 2006, Matt began training again as part of the Army’s World Class Athlete Program, which allows him to fulfill his dream of helping defend the United States and to train in hopes of making the 2008 Olympic Team...Matt enjoys watching the food network...His favorite book is The Long Walk, which tells the adventure of a Polish political prisoner escaping from a Russian gulag in the 1940s.

(updated 11/6/2007)