Hilary Smart

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." Although Hilary was born in New York City, he was raised in Darien, Connecticut. In 1943, he joined the Aviation Cadet Training Program, where he was a specialist in navigation. Smart served there until 1945. Smart attended Choate School. The two finished the second race with a time of 1:52.12, moving them to first place; however, the third race saw them fall down to second place after Joaquim Fiúza and Júlio Gourinho finished slightly faster. In the fourth race, the Smarts claimed the first place; however, they finished third in the fifth race and were disqualified from the sixth. The seventh race saw the Smarts finish sixth. The Smarts won the most points based on their performance in each race. They received the gold medal.

Life post-Olympics Smart continued sailing for almost 50 years after his Olympic victory, continuing to compete in the star class. He qualified twice for the World Championships – in 1981 and in 1985. He died on January 8, 2000, in his Weston home of natural causes, and was survived by his children and nine great-grandchildren.