Westbrook, Peter

▪ American fencer

born April 16, 1952, St. Louis, Mo., U.S.

      American fencer (fencing). Westbrook began taking fencing lessons at the urging of his Japanese mother (her brother was a famous kendo master in Japan). He was attracted at once to the sabre, which developed quickly into his specialty. Eventually he became a student of the great Hungarian master Csaba Elthes.

      Westbrook was a member of every U.S. Olympic fencing team from 1976 through 1996. At the 1984 Olympic Games in Los Angeles, he placed third in the individual sabre competition—the first American to win an Olympic fencing medal since 1960 and the first African American to win a fencing medal. At the world championships in 1989, Westbrook finished eighth in the men's individual sabre.

      Westbrook won the U.S. National Individual Sabre Championship 13 times: 1974–75, 1979–86, 1988–89, and 1995. This is a unparalleled record in U.S. fencing. He was named to the United States Fencing Association Hall of Fame in 1996.

      In 1991 Westbrook started the Peter Westbrook Foundation, an organization dedicated to helping disadvantaged children gain positive attitudes and skills through fencing. His autobiography, Harnessing Anger: The Way of an American Fencer, was published in 1997.

Nick Forrest Evangelista

 

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