David Smith (boccia)

David Smith

MBE

Smith at heroes' parade in London
Personal information
Full name	David John Smith
Born	2 March 1989 (1989-03-02) (age 32) Eastleigh, Hampshire, England
Website	https://davidsmithmbe.goherbalife.com/
Sport
Country	United Kingdom
Sport	Boccia
Disability class
Club	Swansea Boccia Club
Medal record Boccia Representing  Great Britain Paralympic Games 2008 Beijing Team BC1-2 2016 Rio Individual BC1 2020 Tokyo Individual BC1 2012 London Individual BC1 2012 London Team BC1-2 World Championships 2007 Vancouver Individual BC1 2007 Vancouver Team BC1-2 2014 Beijing Individual BC1 2018 Liverpool Individual BC1 2006 Rio Team BC1-2 2011 Belfast Team BC1-2 2014 Beijing Team BC1-2 2016 Beijing Individual BC1 European Championships 2009 Porto Individual BC1 2013 Porto Individual BC1 2013 Porto Team BC1-2 2015 Guildford Team BC1-2 2017 Porto Individual BC1 2019 Porto Individual BC1 2005 Porto Team BC1-2 2009 Porto Team BC1-2 2019 Porto Team BC1-2

David Smith MBE (born 2 March 1989 in Eastleigh) is a Paralympian who made his Paralympic debut on the British boccia team that won the gold medal at the 2008 Summer Paralympics. He competed for Great Britain at the 2012 Summer Paralympics^[1] and did so winning Bronze in the Team BC1–2.^[2] and Silver in the BC1 individual event watched by a record Boccia crowd at the Excel arena. David competed for Paralympics GB for a third time in Rio where he won Gold in the individual BC1 event for the first time in his career. In doing so, David has become the joint most successful British Boccia player in history. David currently holds the 'triple crown' of major tournament wins following his win at the World Championships in Liverpool 2018. David is now the holder of three Paralympic Gold Medals, after winning at the 2020 Tokyo Paralympics, making him the most decorated British Boccia player in history and the first BC1 to defend a Paralympic title, He was selected to carry the GB flag in the Tokyo 2020 closing ceremony.

Early life and family[]

He was born David John Smith at Southampton General Hospital, the son of Mary Windless (1952–present) and Clive Smith (1953–present). David was the first of two children; he was born two years before his sister Dawn. David was brought up in Eastleigh.

Education[]

Early years and Primary school[]

David was diagnosed with cerebral palsy at one year of age, and went to a developmental centre in Winchester for disabled children. Aged three, he went to Cedar School, Southampton for special needs children. David first played Boccia aged six at Cedar School when the school competed at National junior games in Stoke Mandeville. Throwing sideways, David never really won a game and the sport took time to ignite his interest. The school really struggled to challenge David and his potential to learn was being held back by the lack of academic ability of his peers.

Secondary School[]

After a long battle with the council, David's parents managed to get David a place at Treloar School. Aged eleven, David finally changed schools and went to Treloar School in September 2000. Immediately David began to flourish, his confidence grew rapidly and he really developed his talent for Boccia, drumming, wheelchair hockey, wheelchair football and Para-athletics. He became the youngest ever player to win the British Boccia Championships at the age of fourteen and won numerous national titles in the other sports. David was elected head boy in 2004 and managed the wheelchair hockey and football sessions.

College[]

The move to college was straight forward for David as it was the same organisation. Whilst at Treloar College, David attended Alton College to complete his A'levels in Physics and Maths. The demands of his, now international, Boccia career meant that a lot of the hobbies he had at school had to be phased out.

University[]

After the Beijing Paralympics, David went to Swansea University to study Aerospace Engineering. Due to Boccia, David took six years to complete his degree. However, David was able to set up a permanent base in Swansea with the sports support services and facilities necessary to remain successful.

International Boccia[]

Early career[]

Coached by Barry Bowden since he started Treloar, David joined the England and Wales squad in 2004 soon after his first British title. David's international debut followed the same year. David went to the European Championships in 2005, his first Major ranking international. There he beat the world ranked number 6 player 6-0 in a pool game and got all the way to the quarter-finals. In the team event he helped the England team secure a silver medal. David had disappointing second major in 2006 this time representing GB, where he finished 13th and the team got a bronze at the World Championships in Rio. In 2007, David became double world champion at the age of 18. Sadly, Barry decided to step down as his coach after this tournament after 7 years together following disputes with the new GB squad. David competed in Beijing 2008 but due to the continued coaching issue only managed 13th individually. The team did much better and inspired by his teammate Nigel, David raised his game and helped the team achieve an historic Paralympic Gold.

Middle career[]

After Beijing, David built up a friendship with Sarah Nolan who in 2010 became his coach. New management in the GB squad helped David untie the bad practices of the previous era and slowly the sport became professional. In 2009, David won his first Europeans to become world ranked number 1 for first time. In 2010, David and the team lost in quarter-finals to Tadtong of Thailand at the World Championships. Drastic changes were needed and Sarah started reworking how David played the game to suit the new style of play from Asia. In 2011, Sarah became David's permanent on-court assistant. In 2012, David won two medals at the Paralympics for the first time. In 2013, Claire Morrison became David's coach whilst Sarah remained his on-court assistant took over as captain of the team and won double gold at the Europeans that year. In 2014, David became world champion for a second time winning the final spectacularly 8-2. In 2015, David captained the team to another European Gold and the team gained an automatic slot for the Rio Paralympics. In 2016, David claimed a bronze at the World Individual Championships in Beijing having lost once in the pool stages and losing again to Tadtong. In Rio, David recovered from the disappointment of Team failure and the loss of a must win Pool game to beat his long term Thailand rival for the first time. After the pool game David parted company with his coach and Sarah took over the coaching duties. Thanks to Sarah steadying the ship and giving David clarity, two days later, David was Paralympic Champion.

Late career[]

Glynn Tromans took over coaching after Rio and David won the European championships for a third time and went through the whole 2017 season undefeated. In 2018, David suffered a shock defeat at Montreal World open which was the first time in over 18 months. However, David responded immediately and went on to reclaim his World title at the World Championships in Liverpool. David now has the 2016-2018 Triple crown of being reining Paralympic, European and World champion. In 2019, David defended his European title automatically qualifying to Tokyo in the process. In Tokyo, David played live on C4 for the first time in front on millions of people to win the Gold and defend his title.

Domestic Boccia[]

David has remained unbeaten at annual English Nationals and GB Championships since 2004 clocking up a record 16 British and 11 National titles. In 2016, David retired from the English nationals due to the long-standing trophy and competition being replaced with a new format that didn't offer the same incentives. He was able to focus on his international career and give the next generation of English BC1s a taste of success.

Personal life[]

David is currently based at Swansea where, after completing his degree studying Aerospace Engineering at Swansea University, he is living and training full-time. He has a passion for aircraft, with a particular interest in World War II aircraft. David is also working as a lifestyle coach for Herbalife Nutrition, is a strong advocate of independent living for the disabled, and is a critic of successive government cuts to spending on social care. David can drive independently using his car, which is heavily adapted. David is a patron of his former school, Treloars in Alton. David was selected to go on Dreamflight in 2003 and since then has been a regular supporter and visitor to events in successive years. He is also a drummer in his spare time as well as a keen driver and advocate of the motability scheme.^[3]

Appearances[]

David has made two appearances on The Last Leg where he has performed his trademark "doughnut" in his wheelchair.

Awards[]

He was Given the Freedom of the Borough of Eastleigh in 2013. ^[4]

He was appointed Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) in the 2017 New Year Honours for services to boccia^[5]

References[]

External links[]

• David Smith at the British Paralympic Association
• David Smith at the International Paralympic Committee