The 42-year-old insurance broker from Alexandra won bronze in the men’s senior single sculls, a great achievement for the veteran.
But what makes the result even more remarkable is he got third in the race 21 years ago.
If only he had not retired so young.
"Oh, yeah, I suppose I did," Smith said.
"I tried for the New Zealand team and when I didn’t get in I decided to go and travel. I sort of walked away from it too early, I think.
"But I’ve enjoyed getting back into it later on in life."
Smith retired in 1997 and did not compete for 14 years. But he stayed involved in the sport through coaching and was lured back into the water.
"I got back in the boat with my mate, who I used to row with when I was a young fellow, and we decided to do some masters events.
"That was good fun so we decided to keep going and do the big boys’ stuff."
Smith was hoping to do well but was certainly not expecting to collect a medal.
"Not really. I knew I was fast, because I won the South Island champs, but there are some real quick boys up here.
"To come away with a medal in that field was pretty satisfying. It is the toughest non-elite competition there is."
Incredibly, Smith is rowing almost as fast as he was during his so-called prime. Conditions were better but Smith’s time of 7min 13.65sec was actually faster than Robbie Manson’s winning time in the men’s premier single sculls.
"It was the fastest I’ve gone in 20 years, so I was pretty happy."
Whanganui rower Luke Watts won the race in 7min 3.06sec from Harrison Joseph (Christchurch) in second place.
