Peter Westbrook was laid to rest last month. The life of the champion saber fencer and mentor to thousands of young athletes who came through his fencing program was celebrated in December at Abyssinian Baptist Church in Harlem.
Westbrook was born on April 16, 1952, in St. Louis, Missouri and lived in New York City. He grew up in Newark, N.J., in the Hayes Homes projects. Westbrook was raised by his Japanese mother, Mariko Wada-Westbrook, after his African American father left the family when Peter was four.
The six-time Olympian and 13-time U.S. national saber champion became a transformative figure in American fencing through his Peter Westbrook Foundation. Westbrook died on Nov. 29, 2024. He was 72.
WBGO’s Jon Kalish attended the funeral in December as many paid tribute to the Olympic trailblazer.
