Peter Westbrook

"He Possesses, for example, the temperament of El Cordobes, the famous matador, the agility of Julius Irving, the basketball great, the cunning of Muhammad Ali, the legend of boxing, and the gracefulness of Rudolf Nureyev, ballet's living shrine..."  -Neward Star ledger  That's how one writer aptly described Peter Westbrook.  Peter Westbrook is just that good.  The story of the life of this 6-time Olympian and 13-time National champion, extends in significance beyond the competitive arena.

Peter Westbrook is listed in the Guinness Book of World Record as the all-time winning American record holder in the United States National Sabre championships.  In 1995, at the age of 43, (although the average retirement age for world class fencers is 34) Westbrook won two gold medals for the US at the 1995 Pan American Games.  In 1996, he was one of only three American sabrists chosen to compete for the gold in the Summer Olympics in Atlanta, his unprecedented sixth Olympic Games.  An incredible twenty-year Olympic career.

Westbrook is America's first African-Asian American Olympic Sabre-Fencing Champion, capturing a Bronze Medal, in the 1984 Los Angeles Games, and holds three Gold Medals from the Pan-American games where he competed on six-teams as well.  In the closing ceremony at the 1992 Olympic Games, and in the opening ceremony of the 1995 Pan-American Games, Westbrook was chosen by all of the other athletes to carry the American Flag for the team.

Born to a Japanese mother and an African-American father, Westbrook was raised in Neward, NJ (with his sister Vivian) by their mother in poverty.  His mother Mariko Wada-Westbrook as born in Kobe, Japan with a lineage of samurai warriors and Noh dancers.  His mother bribed him with five dollars to try fencing to try to emulate the Japanese discipline that was derived from her background.  Before long he excelled at the sport and received a full fencing scholarship to New York University, where he earned a B.S. in Marketing.  Today, Peter is internationally acknowledged as the greatest American Fencer of the 20th Century and is listed among the top 500 most influential Asian Americans.  He has received numerous awards and accolades for his achievements.

His recent book entitled, Harnessing Anger: The Inner Discipline of Athletic Excellence -by Peter Westbrook with Tej Hazarika, is not just the story of a successful athlete.  It is a memoir of a man who overcame the odds and candidly expresses how he used anger and channeled it in a positive way.  This well written (Seven Stories Press publication) and star reviewed book contains his experiences of growing up in the ghetto, a way up and out, being biracial in America, life's obstacles on and off the fencing strip, becoming a champion, the history of fencing, the Peter Westbrook Foundations' mission to help inner city kids through fencing and overcoming and living with anger, pain and loss.  "Harnessing Anger" has been nominated for "Best Books of the year" by the American Library Associations, 1997.  The book is on the shelves of public libraries throughout the United States.

In addition the book has been chosen by Book List Magazine as Editor's Choice for 1997 "Best Books for young adults" and "non-fiction African American category".  The New Your Public Library has chosen "Harnessing Anger" for 1998 Best Books for the Teen Age.

Westbrook is the founder and CEO for the Peter Westbrook Foundation.  The Foundation uses the sport of fencing to assist young people in developing their spirits, minds and bodies so that they are emotionally physically and spiritually prepared to meet life's cahllenges and is dedicated to the advancement and expansion of the sport of fencing throughout the innercities.  The youth have received scholarships to colleges and universities.  They have won NCAA titles, currently ranked number one in the United States and third in the world.  They have represented the United States at the World Championships for the last four years.  This is an amazing accomplishment for a grassroots program.

Peter Westbrook continues to contribute to the sport of fencing those positive values from which he has benefited.  This "ambassador of Fencing" traveled to South Africa to encourage students to strive for excellence in everything they do.  While most athletes of his stature seek fame, fortune and endorsements, Peter has chosen to live his life by motivating youth.  Peter is constantly after to speak to troubled youth, in schools, churches, homeless shelters and to motivate and help them to realize their full potential.  He is a true role model for young people everywhere.

In 1996 Peter Westbrook and George Steinbrenner manager of the Yankees were honored by receiving the F. Don Miller Award by the United States Olympic Committee.  This award is given to and individual every four years for tremendous contribution to the sports in America.  Peter was awarded the UNESCO Fair Play Award in Lithuania for his personal accomplishments and the Peter Westbrook Foundation's outstanding international accomplishments.  Additionally, in 2000, Peter received the Oprah Winfrey's Use Your Life, Angel Award because of his dedication for using his life to save others.

Westbrook served on the Board of Directors of the United States Olympic Committee for eight years.  He has been featured countless times in print and electronic media including repeat appearances on ABC World News with Peter Jennings, 60 Minutes, NBC Nightly News with Tom Brokaw, CNN, Charlie Rose, The Oprah Winfrey Show, The New York Times, Sports Illustrated and Atlantic Monthly magazine, among many others.  In October 1995, Westbrook testified before the United States Senate and again before the House of Representatives in 1999 on how athletics provides an opportunity for growth, self discipline and accomplishment and how his fencing program has achieved its level of success to improve the lives of inner-city youth.  He lives in New Your City with his wife Susann.

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