Former U.S. Olympian Matt Smith was named the heavyweight freshmen rowing coach at Cornell in August 2008. Smith brings a unique background to the Big Red with 16 years of rowing experience and eight years of leadership as an officer in the U.S. Army.
A seven-time member of the U.S national rowing team, Smith has won medals at the Pan-American Games, World Championships, and National Championships, while also representing the U.S. in the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens, Greece.
Smith has served as a volunteer assistant coach for the men’s varsity heavyweight crew at his alma mater, the University of Wisconsin, during the winters of 2002, 2003 and 2007, assisting in the daily management and logistics of over 45 Division I student-athletes.
Smith rowed all four years for the Badgers, spending two years with the first varsity-8 and serving as team captain in his senior season. An Eastern Sprints and IRA medalist, Smith was a three-time Academic All-Big Ten selection. He also served as captain of Wisconsin’s freshmen heavyweight crew in 1997.
Following his graduation from Wisconsin in 2000, Smith was commissioned as an officer in the U.S. Army where he continued his elite rowing career in the Army’s World Class Athlete Program.
During his time in the military, Smith was promoted twice, eventually earning the rank of Captain, and was awarded the Bronze Star and Meritorious Service Medals for exceptional duty in combat and peacetime operations. He is also a graduate of the U.S. Army’s elite Ranger School.
