Description
David Smith MBE, OBE, Champion and Olympic gold medal winner
David was born in Eastleigh, England 2nd March 1989 to Mary Windless and Clive Smith the eldest of 2 children. He was diagnosed with cerebral palsy at the age of 1 and attended the developmental centre, Winchester for disabled children. At the age of 3, he attended Cedar School, Southampton for special needs children. At the age of 11 David’s parents managed to get him into Treloar School where he gained his confidence and developed his skills at sport and drumming. At the age of 14 he became the youngest player to win the Boccia Championships, and won numerous awards at other sports. In 2004 David was elected head boy and managed the wheelchair hockey and football sessions. David went on to study for his A’ Levels in Physics and Maths at Alton College and developed a love of aircraft and aerodynamics. He excelled in the sport of Boccia and phased out other sports and hobbies to concentrate on it. David Smiths successful sporting career started in 2004 when he was selected to the England and Welsh squad after his first British title. His first major ranking was at the European Championships 2005. David beat the No 6 ranking player 6-0 and went all the way to the quarter-finals helping the team secure a Silver medal. At the age of 18 David became double world champion. At the Paralympic games In Beijing David helped the team win a Gold medal. In 2009 David won his first European championship to become World ranked No1. In 2010 Sarah Nolan became his personal coach and after loosing to Tadtong of Thailand at the World Championships Sarah reworked how David played the game. In 2012 David won won 2 medals at the Paralympic games for the first time. In 2013 Claire Morrison became his coach while Sarah remained his on-court assistant. David took over as captain that year and lead the team to win double gold. David has continued to represent England and Wales in the European championships and Paralympic games and is one of the most successful Paralympian players of our time. After completing his degree in Aerospace Engineering at Swansea University, David has settled in Swansea where he is in full time training. He has a great love of aircraft and especially those of WW2. David Smith is an advocate for independent living for the disabled and also of the Motability scheme and is a keen driver. He works as a lifestyle coach for Herbal Nutrition and in his spare time likes to play the drums. He received the MBE in 2017 New Years Honours and the OBE in 2022 New Years Honours, both for services to Boccia.
