A member of the 2008 Beijing Silver-medal team, he has drawn acclaim as one of the sport’s most naturally gifted athletes and top defenders. The four-time Olympian and All-American played professionally for several teams in Europe and for seven years competed in the European Champions League. Attempting to tie the USA Water Polo record for most Olympic Games played at 5 (Tony Azevedo)
INTERNATIONAL/CLUB
Played in 7 matches for Team USA at 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo...Added 1 goal at 2021 FINA World League Super Final in Athens...Notched 1 goal at 2019 Pan American Games in Lima...Contributed 1 goal at the 2019 FINA World Championships in Gwangju...Added 1 goal in 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil...Posted 1 goal during 2015 FINA World Championships...Scored 1 goal amid Team USA’s third-place finish in 2015 FINA Intercontinental Tournament...Named top defensive player at 2014 FINA World Cup...Scored 4 goals to help Team USA to fourth-place finish at 2014 FINA World Cup...Helped Team USA qualify for 2013 FINA World Championship by earning Silver at 2013 UANA World Aquatics Championship...Recorded 3 goals at 2012 Olympics...Scored 3 goals for Team USA at 2012 FINA World League Super Final...Tallied 6 goals in helping Team USA to Gold medal and Olympic berth at 2011 Pan American Games...Scored 5 goals during sixth-place finish at 2011 FINA World Championships...Tallied 3 goals in helping team finish fourth at 2011 FINA World League Super Final in Florence, Italy...Registered 2 goals to help Team USA take fourth place during 2010 FINA World Cup in Oradea, Romania...Added 8 goals en route to helping Team USA capture fifth place at 2010 FINA World League Super Final in Nis, Serbia...Scored 3 goals in helping USA to fourth place finish at FINA World Championships...Earned Silver medal at 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing, China...Scored 3 goals and added two assists...Tallied 3 goals during Silver medal finish at 2008 FINA World League Super Final...Scored on four occasions at 2007 FINA World League Super Final...Tallied 8 goals at 2007 Pan American Games, including 4 in tourney opening win over Brazil...Part of 2006 and 2007 FINA World League Super Final squads...Won Gold medal at 2007 Pan American Games...Member of 2007 FINA World Championship team, scoring 4 goals...Scored 6 goals for Team USA at 2005 FINA World Championships ...One of USA’s top scorers at 2004 Olympics in Athens, Greece...Scored 9 goals at 2004 Summer Olympics, including 2 goals in his Olympic debut against Croatia and a 3-goal performance against Italy to clinch seventh place for the U.S....Made a splash in 2002 as an exciting passer, scorer, and defender...Scored in three games at 2003 Pan American Games...Had 4 goals during 2003 World Championships finals...Named Top Defender at 2003 American Water Polo League finals for Newport...Finished fourth on team with 9 goals in 2002 FINA World League...Made Senior National Team debut at 2001 Canada Cup in Calgary.
PROFESSIONAL
Has competed for a variety of clubs: 2005 Club Ethnikos Pireaus, National Champion of Greece 2005...2006-2008 Club Mladost Zagreb, National Champion of Croatia 2008...2008-9 Club Jadran Herceg Novi, National Champion of Montenegro 2009...2009-10 Club Rari Nantes Savona, second place in Italy...Winner of LEN Cup...2011-13 Club Galatasaray Istanbul, National Champion of Turkey 2012...2014 Club Paulistano Sao Paulo, third place in Brazil...Competed seven years in Champions League teams, two Final Four with Mladost Zagreb and Olympiacos Pireaus...First and only American so far to play at Gezira Sporting Club in Cairo, Egypt.
COLLEGE
Played at Pepperdine University...2005 1stTeam All-American...1stTeam All-MPSF…Led team with 51 goals… Led the Waves with 55 goals in 2003…1st Team All-American…1stTeam All-MPSF…1stTeam MPSF pick in 2002...1stTeam All-American in 2002...Led team in scoring with 65 goals…2001 2ndTeam All-American…1stTeam All-MPSF. During his four seasons with the Waves, Pepperdine went 67-35 overall (.657) and won the 2002 MPSF regular-season title. The Waves posted final national rankings of fifth, third, fifth and sixth.
HIGH SCHOOL
A graduate of Coronado (CA) High School...Helped Coronado to three San Diego Section CIF Division II championships in 1998, 1999, and 2000...Named San Diego Union-Tribune Player of the Year in 1999 and 2000…
PERSONAL
Graduated from Pepperdine with a degree in Economics...Favorite foods range from sushi to carrots...Enjoys hiking…He and his wife Brittany, a fellow Pepperdine graduate, have four children, two goldfish, a parakeet, and a dog.
INTERNATIONAL HIGHLIGHTS
- 2020 OLYMPIC GAMES, TOKYO, JAPAN, 6TH PLACE (Took place in 2021 due to Covid-19 Pandemic)
- 2021 FINA WORLD LEAGUE SUPER FINAL, ATHENS, GREECE, 2ND PLACE
- 2019 PAN AMERICAN GAMES, LIMA, PERU, 1ST PLACE
- 2019 FINA WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS, GWANGJU, SOUTH KOREA, 9TH PLACE
- 2018 FINA WORD CUP, BERLIN, GERMANY, 6THPLACE
- 2018 FINA WORLD LEAGUE SUPER FINAL, BUDAPEST, HUNGARY, 7THPLACE
- 2016 OLYMPIC GAMES, RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL, TIED FOR 9THPLACE
- 2015 FINA WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS, KAZAN, RUSSIA, 7THPLACE
- 2015 PAN AMERICAN GAMES, TORONTO, CANADA, 1STPLACE
- 2015 FINA WORLD LEAGUE SUPER FINAL, BERGAMO, ITALY, 4THPLACE
- 2015 FINA INTERCONTINENTAL TOURNAMENT, CORONA DEL MAR, CA, US, 3RDPLACE
- 2014 FINA WORLD CUP, ALMATY, KAZAKHSTAN, 4THPLACE
- 2013 UANA WORLD AQUATIC CHAMPIONSHIPS, CALGARY, CANADA, 2NDPLACE
- 2012 OLYMPICS GAMES, LONDON, ENGLAND, 8THPLACE
- 2012 FINA WORLD LEAGUE SUPER FINAL, ALMATY, KAZAKHSTAN, 4THPLACE
- 2011 PAN AMERICAN GAMES, GUADALAJARA, MEXICO, 1STPLACE
- 2011 FINA WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS, SHANGHAI, CHINA, 6THPLACE
- 2011 FINA WORLD LEAGUE SUPER FINAL, FLORENCE, ITALY, 4THPLACE
- 2010 FINA WORLD CUP, ORADEA, ROMANIA, 4THPLACE
- 2010 FINA WORLD LEAGUE SUPER FINAL, NIS, SERBIA, 5THPLACE
- 2009 FINA WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS, ROME, ITALY, 4THPLACE
- 2009 FINA WORLD LEAGUE SUPER FINAL, PODGORICA, MONTENEGRO, 4THPLACE
- 2008 OLYMPIC GAMES, BEIJING, CHINA, 2NDPLACE
- 2008 FINA WORLD LEAGUE SUPER FINALS, GENOA, ITALY, 2NDPLACE
- 2007 FINA WORLD LEAGUE SUPER FINALS, BERLIN, GERMANY, 5THPLACE
- 2007 PAN AMERICAN GAMES, RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL, 1STPLACE
- 2007 FINA WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS, MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA, 9THPLACE
- 2006 FINA WORLD LEAGUE SUPER FINALS, ATHENS, GREECE, 5THPLACE
- 2005 FINA WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS, MONTREAL, CANADA, 11THPLACE
- 2004 OLYMPIC GAMES, ATHENS, GREECE, 7THPLACE
- 2004 TORNEO DI NAPOLI, NAPLES, ITALY, 3RDPLACE
- 2003 FINA WORLD LEAGUE SUPER FINALS, NEW YORK, NY, 3RDPLACE
- 2003 PAN AMERICAN GAMES, DOMINICAN REPUBLIC, 1STPLACE
- 2003 FINA WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS, BARCELONA, SPAIN, 6THPLACE
- 2003 JOBO CURTINI TOURNAMENT, RIJEKA, CROATIA, 3RDPLACE
- 2003 U.S. CUP, STANFORD, CA, UNITED STATES, 2NDPLACE
- 2003 FRENCH INTERNATIONAL, NICE, FRANCE, 1STPLACE
- 2002 FINA WORLD CUP, BELGRADE, YUGOSLAVIA, 7THPLACE
- 2002 UNICUM CUP, BUDAPEST, HUNGARY, 4THPLACE
- 2002 TRISTAR INTERNATIONAL, KRANJ, SLOVENIA, 3RDPLACE
- 2002 EIGHT-NATIONS TOURNAMENT, NICE, FRANCE, 3RDPLACE
- 2001 PAN AMERICAN QUALIFYING TOURNAMENT, SANTO DOMINGO, DOMINICAN REP., 1STPLACE
- 2000 JUNIOR PAN AMERICAN CHAMPIONSHIPS, BARQISIMIETO, VENEZUELA, 1STPLACE
FUN FACTS
Instagram: gosmithnow
Twitter: @gosmithnow
What was the moment you knew you wanted to represent your country in the Olympic Games? Was it always in the sport of water polo?
When I was in high school, the dream began after a call from Ratko Rudic. He was the new USA National Team Coach, and he invited me to training in Los Alamitos, CA.
What is your hidden talent?
I am a “sharp shooter.” I know this from team-building exercises with the Air Force Academy while we were staying at the United States Olympic Training Center.
What is your favorite karaoke song?
“Like a Rolling Stone” by Bob Dylan (with my wife)
If you could compete in another sport during the Olympic Games what would it be and why?
SURFING! It’s so exciting to have surfing involved in the 2020 Olympic Games! Or sailing. Water sports are my jam.
What is one thing you have to have with you when you travel?
Beats headphones and a good pillow.
Biggest superstition if you have one?
I am not superstitious, but I do make sure my sports psychology mantras are in line before games.
What is your biggest fear?
Spiders.
What causes are most dear to your heart?
My wife and kids.
What are two truths and a lie about you?
I have surfed with a Great White shark twice.
I have had my face stitched up 10 times, plus surgeries on both ear drums and my nose.
I will have been training for the Olympics for 20 years in 2020 (the “lie” would be #2- I think I have had only stitches 6 or 7 times)
Do you have a nickname? How did you get it?
No, but my son Sawyer’s nickname is “Baby Jesse” because he looks and acts like a mini-version of me, so they say
What song would be included on your life's soundtrack?
“Vacation” by the Dirty Heads.
What advice would you give your younger self and what would you remind your older self?BE. HERE. NOW. For both my younger and older self!
