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Camera Crew Member #1:: Stick it. Camera Crew Member #2:: Black Champions. January 31, 1985. Peter Westbrook. Camera Roll 51. Sound Roll 25. Sound 79. Interviewer #1:: Peter I wonder if we could begin by talking about your, your early life. Tell us about where you grew up and- Peter Westbrook:: All right. Interviewer #1:: -maybe a little bit about what kind of kid you were. Peter Westbrook:: All right Clayton. Well I grew up most of my life in Newark, New Jersey. And, basically I lived in the projects. I was raised by my mother. I have a Japanese mother and a black father. My parents separated when I was small, so it was just me, my mother, and my sister. [laughs] It was interesting because I have to do a lot of sword-fighting when I was younger, not with swords, but sticks, just fighting people off. So it was kind of a natural transition to go into fencing, the sport I'm in right now. Interviewer #1:: Mm-hmm Peter Westbrook:: Mm-hmm Interviewer #1:: I know you told this story before, but maybe you'd tell us again, how- Peter Westbrook:: Right. Interviewer #1:: -you got into fencing. Your mother sort of bribed you- Peter Westbrook:: Yeah, in fact, when I was in Newark, New Jersey I went to a Catholic high school. Essex Catholic High School. And, that was predominantly, all Catholics, all boys, all men taught by Christian brothers they called them. And when I was there my mother told, Pete why don't you go try fencing, I'll give you five dollars. The first thing, Fencing, who wants to do that? I was pretty good at boxing, and especially track and field, so I said, oh, I don't think so. And she says, I'll give you five dollars. I said, I'll take it. So I went, and I was pretty good at it. A lot of people there were fencing for about a year, and I just thought about, after a couple of weeks or one month, I was beating on everybody. And I thought, this is great. Let me keep this up. So I told my mother that I was gonna quit the next day. And the only reason I did that was to get five dollars again. So I told her I would quit, and I got five more dollars. After that I didn't take anymore money from her, but I stuck with the sport because I liked it, and it was a lot of fun. Interviewer #1:: Tell us something about your, your first instructors. How did they approach you as someone brand new to the sport? How does one break into a sport like fencing. Peter Westbrook:: Well, I was in an unusual situation, because fencing, most of the time, people start it, let's say, in college, or private clubs. I was in a situation where I had the opportunity to fence in high school. So, they looked upon me, it was basically a Italian school, this, this guy who wanted to fence was a little unusual anyway to start, to begin. And, since I was pretty good at it, they just said join the team, fine, no problem.

00:02:39.000 - 00:04:04.000

Interviewer #1:: Who was your first Coach Peter? do you remember? Peter Westbrook:: Yes. It was Doctor Samuel D'Ambola. In fact I just saw him about a two months ago, right before the CEBA awards. Interviewer #1:: Mm-hmm Peter Westbrook:: Mm-hmm Interviewer #1:: What, what did he tell you in the beginning? Did he give you any special instruction, anything you remember about those, those first, first lessons- Peter Westbrook:: Well, he reminded me like my mother, he was pretty rigid, pretty strong, always yelling at me, trying to tell me that you've gotta like, get tough. And, that was basically it. It was pretty kind of, just tough guy, just, told you to just, do the basics well, and just get out there. Interviewer #1:: When do you, do you recall when you first thought you were really good enough to take this sport somewhere? Everyone has a point, I think, when they feel, Hey I'm really good at this- Peter Westbrook:: Right. Interviewer #1:: -I could go a long way. Peter Westbrook:: Right. Well the first day I started I knew I was good at it. That's the first thing [laughs]. But, I didn't really know I was that good until I got to New York. At this school they gave me a scholarship, at Essex Catholic, then I got a fencing scholarship also to go to New York University. So, after getting the scholarship, I started fencing with other people on the Olympic team, and I thought, Oh boy, this is pretty easy. At that time, then I realized, well why don't I try to make the Olympic team myself and see what I can do, see what kinda mark I can make? So that's when I realized, when I got to NYU. Interviewer #1:: Right. Now you, you were, I think your first Olympic, first time you were eligible for the Olympics was seventy- Peter Westbrook:: '76. Interviewer #1:: Right. Peter Westbrook:: Right.

00:04:05.000 - 00:07:47.000

Interviewer #1:: What happened that year? Tell us about that experience. Peter Westbrook:: In fact, I was talkin' about it with my coach the other night, and he still is, kinda sour grapes. What happened was, I made the team in '76, and about four days, five days before the event, I tore two ligaments in my left ankle. I was messin' around with some of the people there and [laughs] , on a wrestling, a wrestling mat. And you know a wrestling mat is very soft, and it gives a lot, so my foot just kinda stuck in the mat and it twisted. And the next thing I know I was in a wheelchair. I couldn't even march in the opening ceremony. So they were gonna send me home. So I said, Well I'm here now, there's no need to, I'm here. So I got a lotta treatments, about three times a day from the doctors. And the doctors would always tell me, Yeah Pete, we're gonna get you brand new, in about four days, and I knew that'd kinda be impossible. So, four days later I had to compete, and it wasn't all that great, but I still came in thirteenth. So it was the best I could do, and it was still the best anybody else did on the team. So- Interviewer #1:: That was in, that was the Montreal- Peter Westbrook:: That was in Montreal, at Canada. Interviewer #1:: And this, this mishap took place up there. You were already in Montreal- Peter Westbrook:: Right- Interviewer #1:: -when it happened. Peter Westbrook:: -four days before. Interviewer #1:: What do you remember about the, that, that year. Of course we had some, some spectacular successes in boxing and several other, areas. What was the atmosphere of the '76 Olympics like? Peter Westbrook:: The atmosphere was a little different than in '84. It was in another country, in Canada. Canada is very similar to The United States in the sense, let's say the politics, people, we both have a common language, for the most part. There are people that speak French there, but for the most part, generally speaking, we have a lot of English speaking people. So that gave us a little comradery together. A lot of places when you go and you don't have that language, it's very difficult to communicate. You start using sign languages. Here we had, you know, English. So, it was pretty good. It made people from the States and Canada, a common goal, a common bond, let me say that, with themselves. It was almost like the Canadians and the Americans takin' on the rest of the world, more or less. So I enjoyed it. Interviewer #1:: Now of course 1980, there were no Olympics for Americans- Peter Westbrook:: Right. Interviewer #1:: -How did that, how'd you find out about that? Peter Westbrook:: Well I found out about it by reading the papers, plus before that they told us, the Olympic committee told us earlier, that probably Carter would boycott the games. And I had made that team also, in 1980. I'll be honest with you, myself personally, a lotta people were really, really devastated, bummed out. Myself, I made the '76 team, and I told myself, Well I'm pretty good at this, I'll probably make the '84 team too, so in '80, when we didn't go, I was devastated, but not as much as a lotta people, since I knew I'd have two more. Plus, they gave us an opportunity to go to China, and I knew I'd never get the opportunity, opportunity to do that. We went to Peeking, Nanking, Shanghai, Canton, great opportunity, and, I really enjoyed that. Cause China's been one of the few places that hasn't been touched, at least then, by the Western world, one of the few places. So it was very interesting, different culture, people. I remember one thing in particular stuck in my mind. On the team we had a Black girl and we had a white girl. The black girl was pretty black, and the white girl was very, very pale. And the Chinese people took a look at 'em, and they couldn't believe it. They never saw any people like that before. I mean literally, it was, you know, unusual, just to watch that response. So, to answer your question, I, I felt a little devastated I didn't go to '80, but the compensation was very rewarding to me, so - it was OK.

00:07:48.000 - 00:10:50.000

Interviewer #1:: Peter, before we talk about the '84 Olympics, let's, let's back up just a little bit. Peter Westbrook:: Right. Interviewer #1:: For those in our audience who will no nothing, or not very much about your sport- Peter Westbrook:: Right. Interviewer #1:: -there are a number of different instruments. Everybody seems to think fencing is just, is just a sword- Peter Westbrook:: Right. Interviewer #1:: -with a little flim, but there are a number of instruments, and perhaps you'd talk about that, about the, the details of, of the sport in which you participate. Peter Westbrook:: OK. Without not, without gettin' too detail-oriented, it's basically, or generally, I fence Sabre. It's like watching Zoro on TV or the Three Musketeers or Robin Hood. Basically the objective, it's a cutting weapon. You can hit with the point, but ninety-five percent is scored through cutting the opponent. The target is from the hips up. That includes the limbs, the head, so you have to score five touches to win. After every one touch that you score, you start again from pre-determined positions. The first one to score five wins, just that simple- Interviewer #1:: What about the other, what about the other instruments? That you, you don't, I think there's Ép ée - Peter Westbrook:: Yes, there's Ép ée and Foil, the other two. The difference is, Ép ée you can only score with the point, and the target is the whole body from the head to the toes, only with the point. The other weapon, Foil, is very similar to Sabre. The target is from the hips up, but it's just the torso, excluding the limbs. Interviewer #1:: Is there a reason you, you picked Sabre, or is it- Peter Westbrook:: Oh yeah. Interviewer #1:: -are you particularly suited for that, or? Peter Westbrook:: When I was comin' up, my mother used to always tell me, I used to always watch Zoro. I used to love that program. I remember my mother bought a brand new table. A brand new, I'm not sure what it was, pecan, maple, whatever it was. After about two days, she, I think she stepped out or somethin', and I carved Zoro in the table. When she got back, let me tell you [laughs] , she picked up one of those swords [laughs] , and gave me a little Zoro lesson. But, I used to always watch Zoro. And, even Halloween-time, I used to get them Zoro costumes on. So, when I had the opportunity to fence in high school, I just capitalized on it and tried it out. Yeah. Interviewer #1:: A lotta people look at this sport and think it's, it's probably very dangerous. There is protective equipment on- Peter Westbrook:: Right. Interviewer #1:: -but what about the danger factor? Peter Westbrook:: I'll tell ya, it's really not too dangerous compared to other sports, such as boxing. Every boxing event, most of the time, you get bashed in the nose, and jaw, lips, eyes. Football game, everyone, everyone in a football game gets hurt. I mean you may not get hurt, but you have at least five, six people, maybe broken legs, twisted ankles, minor things like that. In fencing, I've been fencing for about eighteen years now, and I think the only thing, two things happened, I tore my ligaments once, in '76, and about five years ago I was fencing and a blade went up, the blade broke, it's very flexible, and it broke. And obviously when it breaks it loses its flexibility, and it went in my throat. It went in my esophagus and went through my larynx.

00:10:51.000 - 00:15:10.000

Peter Westbrook:: So, you know, I just pulled it out immediately, but that was the only thing that happened. Interviewer #1:: We're out, we're gonna change magazines. Camera Crew Member #2:: [unintelligible] Camera Crew Member #3:: [unintelligible] [[rollout on camera roll]] [[wild audio]] [[camera roll 52]] Camera Crew Member #2:: Sound eighty. Interviewer #1:: Peter, many people look at this sport, and because it does involve weapons really, think it's quite dangerous. What is the danger factor in fencing? Peter Westbrook:: Well as I was speaking to someone else, a couple months ago, I told him it's not that dangerous compared to other sports. When you have boxing, you have a lot of people getting broken noses, jaws, busted up eyes. 'Cause I used to box myself, and you never, even the winners, come out looking like losers, if you get what I'm trying to say, right. In football, you have broken legs, ankles, things like that. In fencing, I've been fencing eighteen, nineteen years, and outa those eighteen years only two things ever happened. One, I tore two ligaments, as I expressed earlier, in the '76 games. And another thing, I was takin' a lesson from a coach five years ago, and a blade, with the saber it's very flexible, and I was takin' a private lesson and we were doin' an action, and the blade broke, so it's no longer flexible anymore, as I was comin' forward full speed, it went inside my esophagus, and through my larynx, so through two pipes. And I just thought it was some, it felt like a chicken bone in my throat or somethin'. So I just pulled it out, and as I was talkin' to the coach I heard a lotta, I heard a [makes hissing sound] , a hissy sound. What is that? I kept talkin' to the coach, I kept hearin' that sound again, and the next thing I know, I felt, there was air coming out as I was talkin'. I was pretty lucky. It was, I missed every vein, every artery, didn't hit anything like that. Just, they call it a perfect tracheotomy, so I thought to myself, boy, if I go down to the hospital, which I know I have to go, I'm gonna be in there for a coupla days. Now this was my younger days, when I was a little, let's say, not so, a little crazy. So I went upstairs, I literally took a shower first, 'cause I thought to myself, well, if I go down there I don't wanna be in a hospital bed for two days without a shower, I've been working out for about an hour already. So I went upstairs, I didn't move to fast, 'cause I didn't want anything to happen, so I moved very slow. I didn't want to, you know, hurt anything there. Moved real slow, and took a shower, got all cleaned up. I was walkin' very slow, 'cause I didn't want anything to happen [laughs] . And would you believe, I thought, well, I felt pretty good, so I took a subway down to the hospital [laughs] . And, as soon as I got the hospital the doctors were like, frantic, just, knife wound in the neck, knife wound in the neck. Everybody's rushin' me through the emergency, well I said, I'm all right, I took a shower, I'm fine. So, I went down there, found out I had a perfect tracheotomy. I was there for about three days, four days, intravenous feeding things like that. But those were the only two injuries that happened while I was fencing for eighteen year, so I think those odds are pretty good, excellent in fact. Interviewer #1:: Peter are there, are there nations that dominate this sport or, for example, for many years the Australians were- [buzzing in background] Peter are there nations that, that dominate in this sport? For many years the Australians were tops in tennis. Other countries produce champions for any other particular sports. Are there nations that dominate the fencing sport, or perhaps one area? Peter Westbrook:: Yes, there are nations that dominate fencing. It's like in The United States, we pretty much dominate track and field, or swimming and boxing. The Eastern Europeans dominate fencing. The French, the Italians, the Hungarians, the Russians. Those people, they're raised up, as little kids, eight, five years old, fencing. Their, the whole heritage is based on swords, when they had no guns in those days. Our heritage is based upon cowboys and Indians, so we had guns. They're so far back, so old, they were raised up on swords. So they practice at a much earlier age, you have much stiffer competition, you have many more coaches there, so they're much more advanced than we are, here, in this country, in fencing area. [[buzzing in background]] Interviewer #1:: Have you competed in, in the, in Eastern Europe. Peter Westbrook:: Yes. I competed many times, in fact, and did very well. In fact, I was the only American, anyone from, from America, to reach the finals in about a decade. So that's how much they have claim to that sport.

00:15:11.000 - 00:17:15.000

Interviewer #1:: In, in, tell us particularly about this finals. What were the finals? Peter Westbrook:: Oh, I'm sorry. The finals were in Italy, and it was a world class tournament. And, you had everybody in the whole world there. And I was the only one to make it to the finals from the Western worl'. Even, it was Russians, Hungarians, and Poles, all iron curtain countries. The Italians were eliminated, the French were eliminated, and there I was standing by myself. So it was in Italy, and I got all the Italians rooting for me 'cause I'm from the Western worl' also, so it's kind of peculiar. It was a little strange, but a lot of fun- Interviewer #1:: What, what year was that Peter, tell us. Peter Westbrook:: 1979, somethin' like that. Interviewer #1:: How, how, where, tell us about some of the countries you've competed in around the world.> Peter Westbrook:: Oh, like I said it's an Eastern European sport, so most of the tournaments are held in, let's say, Italy every year, Germany every year, France, Hungary, Russia, Spain, those countries. I think I must've touched all of those countries about, Italy probably eight times, Germany five, France four, so, things like that. Interviewer #1:: Let's talk about the 1984 Olympics. Perhaps you could tell us about your preparation for it, about the way you went about going- Peter Westbrook:: Right. Interviewer #1:: -Just give us a pr écis of how, how you competed this. Peter Westbrook:: Well, basically, I had to work every day. I work for North American Van Lines, it's a relocation company, so I had to practice after hours, from about 5:00, 5:30, to about 9:00 or 10:00 at night, or in the evening. We did that every day, and then on the weekends we went to training camps. We're they had everybody, all of us stay in certain hotels, down in New Jersey, and we just trained twice a day. I was takin' private lessons from a Hungarian coach. He's probably, right now, number one, number two, as a coach, the best in the worl'. So I was doing that, and very intensely. After a while you do it so much you just get tired of it. Oh boy, am I, I was fed up with it. But, it kinda paid off because when I went there I was so well trained, That when I competed with these Europeans I just, I just did very well that day, very well.

00:17:16.000 - 00:20:48.000

Interviewer #1:: Can you tell us, perhaps maybe step by step, how you progressed through the Olympics, you, you win the bronze eventually- Peter Westbrook:: OK. Interviewer #1:: -How, what was the progression- Peter Westbrook:: Well, first of all, one thing I wanted to interject, and that was, the Olympics were here in Los Angeles, in our country here. United States. And it kinda puts more weight on your shoulders, more pressure on your shoulders, first of all. And you feel it more, as opposed to when I went to Canada, or if I woulda went to Russia, it wasn't as much weight on my shoulders. Here you have everybody on your job talkin' about, Are you gonna win? Are you gonna take a medal? You have all your friends, you have people that you never even known existed saying, Are you gonna win a medal? Constantly, constantly being reinforced. I mean, after a while you just wanted to, God, have you don't, you don't want to let yourself down, but never mind all these thousands of people. So it became overbearing after a while, at least I thought. So when I got there, the same thing happened. While I was there, the same thing happened, my coach, everybody, Are you gonna win a medal, you gonna win a medal. I mean, I can't, I mean, you know, I don't have a crystal ball. I can't really tell you that. I mean I think I would, but nothing's guaranteed in life. If anything, we know that. So, when I went there, I competed from step one, preliminary rounds, and I just kinda tuned out mosta the people, that kept asking me if you were gonna win a medal, because I have to deal with my own fears, first of all, dealin' with my opponent, that's my own fears that come up, never mind everybody else, the whole country's fears, and all their anxiety on my shoulders. So I had to tune a lotta people out, a lotta people. And once I was able to tune the people out, it became easier to progress through the rounds as it got closer and closer, quarter finals, semifinals, and then the finals. Interviewer #1:: Now tell us about some of the people you competed against. Had you competed against them before at other meets, were you familiar with most of the people at the Olympics. Peter Westbrook:: Yes. Not as much as they are familiar with one another. They compete, to give you an idea of how much experience they have, they compete with one another, the Europeans in fencing, about fifteen times a year, with one another. So they're very, very familiar with one another. Myself, I compete with them, let's say, once or twice a year. So theoretically, and its true, they have more experience in one or two years, than I have practically in my whole lifetime. So it's, now you can see how it's very difficult to win a medal in that kind of environment. Plus, all the officials are European. So that makes it a little more difficult to win a medal also. You have no electrical equipment. When you score touches, you rely on the eyes of the European judges and, of course, a lotta times they don't see a thing [laughs] . So, yeah. Interviewer #1:: When you arrived in Los Angeles- Peter Westbrook:: Right. Interviewer #1:: -what were your expectations? Peter Westbrook:: Well, when I arrived in Los Angeles, first of all my expectations were to make sure I got my goodies [laughs] . That's the first thing. They give you a lot of goodies there, rings, watches, suits, I mean everything, so that was the first thing. First things first now [laughs] . After that, then I thought about the competition. And I wanted to win a gold medal, but I thought to myself, if I didn't win a gold medal, a silver or bronze would do. So, I just kinda took it as it came along. Camera Crew Member #2:: It's almost run out. Interviewer #1:: Are we out? Camera Crew Member #2:: Almost. Interviewer #1:: OK. We'll, we'll stop on this next one- Peter Westbrook:: OK. Interviewer #1:: -and come back to, just pick that- [[rollout on camera roll]] [[wild audio]] [[camera roll 53]] [[sound roll 26]]

00:20:49.000 - 00:22:28.000

Camera Crew Member #1:: Black Champions, Peter Westbrook. January 31, 1985. Camera Roll 53, Sound Roll 26, Sound 81. Interviewer #1:: Peter, are there rankings for fencers, the way they have for tennis players and bowlers? I mean, are people ranked in any special way- Peter Westbrook:: Yes, yes. They have tournaments here once a year where they rank the fencers; starting with number one, two, whatever, fifty, hundred. Myself personally, I had the national title for eight times now, six in a row and two prior, before that. Interviewer #1:: What about world rankings? Peter Westbrook:: World rankings, we have that here also. In the world we have it, but it's not here, I'm sorry. Most of the time it's in Germany, Italy, whatever. And they go by one tournament a year. And this year was the Olympics obviously. So right now I'd be ranked third in the worl'. Every year they have a tournament like that or similar to that. Interviewer #1:: Peter Westbrook is ranked third. Tell us about the people who are ranked one and two. Peter Westbrook:: OK, one is a Frenchman. He's been fencing a pretty long time, in fact. He's around my age, around 32. And, he's pretty good. Second is an Italian boy, about 24, he's ranked number two, from northern Italy somewhere. And, he's a little hot-head, but he's pretty good also. Interviewer #1:: Can we go back and this time, in your answer will, could you include their names? Peter Westbrook:: Oh, OK. Interviewer #1:: Right. Who's, just do the, the answer over- Peter Westbrook:: Now let me see the second one's name here. Interviewer #1:: The Frenchman is ranked number one. Peter Westbrook:: Right, I know his name-

00:22:13.000 - 00:24:26.000

Interviewer #1:: Talk about him. Peter Westbrook:: OK. The number one ranked fencer right now in the world is a Frenchman. His name is Francisco Lamour. He's very good. He's about my age, around 32 years old. He's been doing well in the last 5 years. He has a Hungarian coach also, just like I do. Second, you have an Italian fellow, Marco Marin. He's a young boy, about 25 years old. He has an Italian coach. And, he's kind of a hot-head, but he's pretty good. Interviewer #1:: And, and mention yourself. Peter Westbrook:: And myself [laughs] . I'm ranked third in the world right now, and I have a Hungarian coach also. Interviewer #1:: Tell us a little bit about your coach. And what does a coach do for a fencer? Peter Westbrook:: Basically, what a coach does for a fencer, is to teach you a high degree of technical capabilities. We do a lotta actions that give you a lotta dexterity with your fingers, become very, let's say, nimble fingers. We go through drills every day, to just makes the fingers more and more and more flexible, to do certain things with a blade. And, whoever has the higher level of technique, sometimes is not only good enough. My coach was telling me, I think it's like a piano. I can teach you how to play the keys, but it's up to you to make the song. So, he just teach the technical ability, and it's upta us to put it together and see what kind of song we can come up with. Interviewer #1:: Can you give us the names and tell us a little bit about the top fencing coaches in the world- Peter Westbrook:: Yes. Right now you have one coach who I think is the best in the worl' right now, he's a Russian. He's Kuznetsov. My coach probably is number two. His name is Csaba Elthes. And then you probably have another guy, a Hungarian coach, who's the coach of the French team, Hungarian coach of the French team, his name is Sebasti. And, those three, I would think, right now are the best in the world today.

00:24:27.000 - 00:29:14.000

Interviewer #1:: We hear for exa- we hear in sports like basketball that one of the prerequisites is quickness. In, in football it's strenth- Peter Westbrook:: Right. Interviewer #1:: What're, what are the particular skills you must have to be a top fencer. Peter Westbrook:: I think the particular skills that you must have to be a top fencer are pretty similar, like in other sports. First thing, you hafta be a pretty good athlete, but when you're competing against people from all over the world', if you don't have the physical capabilities, its very difficult to even stand in that kind of arena. That's the fist thing. In addition to that, then it takes a lot of technical training. Once you get past that, then it's up to you to create, let's say, a good defense. A very good defense is very important, which I have. Some people might have a better offense, let's say. And then you kind of put those things together, and I think that's what it is. Agility also, obviously. You have to be agile, be able to stop on a dime. Good timing, is, obviously is very k-, is almost paramount, good timing. Interviewer #1:: It's not a sport, however, I would guess, that requires a great deal of physical strength, is it? Peter Westbrook:: Believe it or not, that's, I get that question many times, and it really does. I can go runnin', to give you an example, I can go runnin' around a park, let's say, for one hour. And I can run too. And, the amount of calories that I burn up in one hour is not even close to the calories and energy that I put out in one hour fencing. I mean it's not even close. And I can run too [laughs] . Yeah. Interviewer #1:: What about the temperament of a fencer? You hear, in some sports, that a lot of athletes are ruined by their, their temperament. Their just not temperamentally suited for the particular- What kind of temperament in terms of fencing- Peter Westbrook:: Well, the best temperament, I would say, in fencing, is somebody that is pretty calm and level-headed. I mean, it's nice to get the adrenaline flowin' and to go temporarily berserk, which is good when hafta gear that energy in a sport, but it hasta be very controlled, so when things don't go your way, when you get an Eastern European official that doesn't see thing like you do, you gotta be calm and just put it aside, and to keep on goin'. So, to answer your question, a calm temperament, discipline is paramount, in this particular event, particularly. Interviewer #1:: Peter, is there a, is there an event that particularly stands out for you in your career? Was there a match or a tournament, is there something in all of those eighteen years, that you think of as perhaps the high point of your career? Perhaps you could describe that for us- Peter Westbrook:: I'll tell ya. One high point, in this Olympic games. Not winning the bronze medal. But, to go into the finals I had to compete against the person that was favored to win the gold medal. He's an Italian boy, and I eliminated him. His name is Dalla Barba, Francesco Dalla Barba, and he's been ranked number two in the world for the last five years now. And he was goin' in assured to win a gold medal, it looked like it. And I had to compete against him to go onto the finals, and it was very difficult. I had four European judges, a German, a West German official, the president. And every touch I would score against this Italian boy, I mean literally score, I would pop him on the head [makes sound] and, literally, the judges would say, I didn't see a thing. You know my expression was, what! But after a while I had to be calm again and just go back. And over, and over, and over it happened. And it got down to the point, in this particular event you had to score ten touches to win. He was leading six to one. Six to one, and the winner goes into the final. And the losers say bye. Didn't look too good. And every touch I would score, practically every touch, they would call it against me. So after a while I just took my mask off and I just said I'm not, I'm not competing anymore. So the guy said I was gonna throw you outa the tournament if you don't. I said, well better me to go out this way. At least everyone knows, than me just keep fencing, and you just sweep me under the rug this way, 'cause I'm not gonna go out this way. So finally I protested so much, I got everybody to come over to watch. So no, so no longer did I have a hundred witnesses, now I had five hundred witnesses. And that was my objective, so now everybody's watchin' and now he was more on the spot than he was before, 'cause I had everybody watchin' now. And I was a little boisterous now too. Uh-huh, everybody watch this guy here. And, would you believe it, from six to one I came back and beat the guy ten to eight. That was the most [phew] bout that I had, most important bout I had, I guess, in a long time.

00:29:15.000 - 00:31:44.000

Interviewer #1:: How is Peter Westbrook treated around the world in this sport? How, what're people's reac-, how do people react to you when they see you. Obviously you're one of the few Americans competing at the level you're competing at- Peter Westbrook:: Right. Interviewer #1:: You are probably, I would guess, the only black American- Peter Westbrook:: Right. Interviewer #1:: -who is competing. How do people respond to you? You talked about China, but what about some of the other countries. When they see Peter Westbrook, how do they react? Peter Westbrook:: It's very unusual, in fact, since it's a very Eastern European sport, I get so much recognition over there. Fencing is the national sport in many of those countries, so when they see me, they look at me, first of all, you know, with the nose up in the air; an American, first of all, an American. But, because they know me personally, and they know how good I am, it kinda erases that I'm an American, in their own mind. They look at me as a very, very talented young guy, and we get along pretty well. But mosta the time their feelings towards Americans are not too high in fencing. In fact I'm probably, myself and somebody else are probably the only ones they look upon as equals so to speak. Right. Interviewer #1:: Peter will you compete in '88, in the Olympics? Peter Westbrook:: I tell ya. That's not the number one thing on my mind right now, but when you've been doin' something so long it becomes second nature. I could probably do it without even tryin' too hard, but once I get there is another story. I gotta do some, you know, preliminary work to do well once I get there. But as far as makin' the team, that wouldn't be a problem. Yeah. Interviewer #1:: Where do you see your future in fencing? How far will you, how long will you c- Peter Westbrook:: Well, what I wanna do right now, to sum it all up, I won a bronze medal in '84, I'd like to win a gold medal in '88, but it depends right now how much distractions I get. I have a girlfriend now, Lorena, who's puttin, puttin' a lot of, I guess, thoughts in my mind. So that's kind of taking away a lot of energies from the sport too. So, my job now also. So I'm just gonna take it as it comes and see what happens. Interviewer #1:: Peter, how would you the sentence that begins, or would you repeat this phrase, to be a champion. Peter Westbrook:: To be a champion, Clayton, I think takes a lotta discipline, and not only in the sport, because you can be great at a sport, a gold medalist, and still not be a champion. I think it takes- Peter Westbrook:: -to be a champion, dedication, discipline, integrity, in other areas- Camera Crew Member #1:: [sighs] Missed it. Interviewer #1:: Did we miss it? Camera Crew Member #1:: Sound 81. [[rollout on camera roll]] [[wild audio]] [[cut]] [[camera roll 54]]

00:31:45.000 - 00:34:30.000

Interviewer #1:: Peter, before we close this up, tell us a little about, tell us a little bit about your daily training regimen. What do you do to keep in shape, keep sharp? What, on a typical day, would you do? Peter Westbrook:: Well, first of all, from 9:00 to 5:00 I work for North American Van Lines, a relocation business. After work, from about 5:30, to 9:00 or 9:30, well I go to the club and take a private lesson, then compete with other people on the Olympic team sparring, and then callisthenics, and then fencing exercises. I was doin' that everyday before a major competition. There's no major competitions coming about now, so what I do is just train three times a week, Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays. Interviewer #1:: Would you complete for us the sentence that begins, to be a champion? Peter Westbrook:: Yes. To be a champion, I think, it's not enough just to win a gold medal or any kind medal in the Olympics, I think to be a champion it takes the same kind of integrity in your personal life. The combination of both, I think, makes a champion. And, even more so, in your personal life. 'Cause it's easy to be a champion when things are goin' your way, when you w-, makin' a lot of many, when you're winnin' medals. I think it takes a lot of integrity, to sum it up, in your personal life, in you as a person, and your character. Camera Crew Member #1:: Cut. [[cut]] Camera Crew Member #2:: OK. Camera Crew Member #1:: Sound eighty-two. Interviewer #1:: Peter you're going to describe the exercises that you do, and, and, if you would, tell us again about the weight of the instruments, as you did. Peter Westbrook:: The sabre is about fourteen or sixteen ounces. That's a maximum of one pound. It's very light, and we do a lot of actions to build up a lot of dexterity, so you can handle it almost like a coin going through all your fingers. So that takes a lotta practice and a lotta years to do that. How's that? Camera Crew Member #2:: A little more of that action please? Peter Westbrook:: And that takes a lot of dexterity, lotta time, to handle the sabre through your fingers like a coin. Camera Crew Member #2:: Keep doin' it, don't- Peter Westbrook:: OK. Camera Crew Member #2:: Yeah, that's good. Peter Westbrook:: I wish I could do it that good in practice. Damn, seems to be comin' out better now. It's great [laughs] . Camera Crew Member #2:: [unintelligible] Peter Westbrook:: Right. Camera Crew Member #2:: Couple more. OK. [[cut]] [[end of interview]]