 Hilary Smart (right) with father Paul after winning the sailing event at the 1948 Olympics | |||||||||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Birth name | Hilary Hurlburt Smart | ||||||||||||||
| Born | July 29, 1925 New York City, New York, U.S. | ||||||||||||||
| Died | 8 January 2000 (aged 74) Weston, Massachusetts, U.S. | ||||||||||||||
Medal record
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Hilary Hurlburt Smart (July 29, 1925 – January 8, 2000) was an American sailor and Olympic champion. He competed at the 1948 Summer Olympics in London, where he received a gold medal in the star class with the boat Hilarius, together with his father, Paul Smart. He often described his Olympic victory by speaking about "the unbelievable feeling of watching the torch come in at the Olympic Stadium. It made me feel proud and responsible to think that my dad and I were the only Americans in our specialty since each country was allowed just a single two-man boat."[1]
Smart was a graduate of The Choate School and a 1947 graduate of Harvard College. While a student at Harvard he was a member of the Varsity Club, the Delphic Club, the Crimson Key Society (a founder), and the Hasty Pudding Club. After he competed at the Olympics, Smart continued sailing in star class for almost fifty years, qualifying twice for the world championships. He then became vice president of national sales at Libbey-Owens-Ford and became the president of Airwick Professional Products. He died at his home in Weston, Massachusetts, in 2000 of natural causes at the age of 74.