William
Smith III

Athlete Bio#

Height

5'11"

Age

Hometown

Rancho Cucamonga, CA

Quick Facts

Started Taekwondo in 2010
Favorite Taekwondo Athlete: James Smith (my brother William James Smith, IV), 3 years undefeated State and National Champion fought through medical problems to be a champion!
Favorite Non-Taekwondo Athlete: George St-Pierre, an amazing fighter with great spirit and martial arts principles!
Who is your biggest inspiration?: Mahatma Gandhi (ideals of change with peace), My dad (always pushing me to become better than I was yesterday), Stephen Hawking (his ideas of quantum mechanics and black holes) and pushing through to overcome his disabilities
Favorite Food: Mac-N-Cheese, Capriotti's Veggie Bobby, Favorite Drink: Vanilla Milkshake
Favorite Book: I don't have a favorite book, but I read non-fiction Chemistry, Biology, and Astronomy books most as genres, but some great fiction books include Diary of a Wimpy Kid and Big Nate Series, The Hobbit, The Outsiders, All American Boys
Favorite TV Show(s): Regular Show, The Office
Favorite Movie(s): All 4 MCU Avengers movies, Captain America: Civil War, Iron Man, MCU Spider Man trilogy, Thor Ragnarok, Legendary Pictures Godzilla series, Godzilla: Final Wars, Kung Fu Panda Trilogy, Despicable Me series including Minions Prequels, Nolan Batman Trilogy, Madagascar Series
Favorite Band(s)/Singer(s): (I like many different types of music) Epic Rap Battles of History, Linkin Park, Eminem, Pachelbel, Marshmallow, Rhianna, Jay Z, 50 Cent, Mozart, Bruno Mars, Boston, Duran Duran, Fall out Boys
Favorite/Inspirational Quotes: "Nothing is to be feared, it is only to be understood." -Marie Curie "Genius is 1 percent inspiration and 99 percent perspiration." -Thomas Edison "Dream it. Believe it. Achieve it.” - (not sure who it is really from)
What is your proudest moment in Taekwondo to date?: Winning second at FISU University Pan American Games representing the US National Collegiate Team (my first time ever being on a national team)

Career Highlights

2022 Gold PacWest 3v3 Sparring Championships Senior World Class Black Belt
2022 Gold Lions Cup 74 kg Senior World Class Black Belt
2022 Bronze FISU University Pan American Games 3v3 Sparring Senior World Class Black Belt
2022 Silver FISU University Pan American Games 74 kg Senior World Class Black Belt
2022 Silver USATKD Grand Prix Final 74 kg Senior World Class Black Belt
2022 Gold Chosun Cup 74 kg Senior World Class Black Belt
2022 NCTA Collegiate National Team Member for FISU University Pan American Games 74 kg Senior World Class Black Belt
2022 Bronze USATKD Grand Prix West 74 kg Senior World Class Black Belt
2022 Gold NCTA Collegiate National Championships 74 kg Senior World Class Black Belt
2022 B-Team Member NCTA Team Trials for Summer World University Games 74 kg Senior World Class Black Belt
2021 Silver USATKD Grand Prix Final 74 kg Senior World Class Black Belt
2021 Gold Lions Cup 74 kg Senior World Class Black Belt
2021 B-Team Member Truescore National Team Trials 80 kg Senior World Class Black Belt
2021 Gold Truescore National Championships 74 kg Senior World Class Black Belt
2021 Bronze AAU Junior Olympic Games/AAU National Team Trials 74 kg Senior World Class Black Belt
2021 Bronze AAU National Championships 74 kg Senior World Class Black Belt
2021 Bronze USATKD Grand Prix West 74 kg Senior World Class Black Belt
2021 Bronze USATKD National Team Trial for U21 Pan American Games 80 kg U21 World Class Black Belt
2020 Gold USATKD Arizona State Championships 63 kg Junior World Class Black Belt
2019 Bronze Las Vegas Open 63 kg Junior World Class Black Belt
2019 Bronze Binational Championships 63 kg Junior World Class Black Belt
2019 Gold California Challenge IME Team Trial for Binationals 63 kg Junior World Class Black Belt
2019 Bronze Dominican Republic Open 59 kg Junior World Class Black Belt
2018 USA Taekwondo All-American 55 kg Junior World Class Black Belt
2018 Bronze USAT National Championships 55 kg Junior World Class Black Belt
2018 Silver AAU S. California Championships 55 kg Junior World Class Black Belt
2018 Gold 3 local CA tournaments 55 kg Junior World Class Black Belt
2017 Gold Presidents Cup for the Americas 53 kg Cadet World Class Black Belt
2017 Gold and IME CA State Team Representative at CUTA Bi-National Games 53 kg Cadet World Class Black Belt
2017 Gold Utah 53 kg Cadet World Class Black Belt
2017 Gold Jimmy Kim Tournament 53 kg Cadet World Class Black Belt
2017 Silver AAU S. California Championships 49 kg Cadet World Class Black Belt
2017 Gold 7 local CA tournaments Cadet 49 kg and 53 kg Cadet World Class Black Belt
2016 Gold USAT National Championships Red Belt 45 kg Cadet
2016 Gold California State Championships Red Belt 45 kg Cadet
2016 Gold Texas State Championships Red Belt 45 kg Cadet
2016 Gold International Taekwondo Festival Red Belt 45 kg Cadet
2016 Gold 9 local CA tournaments Red Belt 45 kg Cadet
2015 Gold Nevada State Championships Brown Belt fighting Red Belt 41 kg Cadet
2015 Silver Jimmy Kim Tournament 41 kg Brown Belt fighting Red Belt Cadet
2015 Silver International Taekwondo Festival 41 kg Brown Belt fighting Red Belt Cadet
2015 Gold 10 local CA tournaments 41 kg Brown Belt fighting Red Belt Cadet
2014 Gold Utah State Championships Green Belt fighting Blue Belt Youth
2014 Gold 7 local CA tournaments Green Belt fighting Blue Belt Youth

Other Fun/Interesting Facts:

I am currently a UCLA Undergraduate Student majoring in Microbiology, Immunology, and Molecular Genetics who wants to be a Ph.D/DVS Vet and design new types of gene therapies to treat animals and people.

I had a cumulative high school GPA of approximately 4.6, and I was academically in the top 2% of my graduating class, making Cum Laude.

I performed playing Trombone in the UCLA Marching Band in my Freshman Year and I played in the nationally ranked Etiwanda High School Marching Band, and we placed 5th at Bands of America Southwest Regional Championships and was named to three Regional Honor Bands

I wrestled varsity in high school, and we placed 5th at CIF Southern California Dual Meet Championships, and I still Wrestle at UCLA.

I love to travel and when I go to tournaments abroad I think that is an interesting opportunity to learn about other cultures.

I was in Science Olympiad, and I placed Silver at Inland Empire Regionals in Chiropterology (Study of bats), and Bronze in Geology.

I have scuba dived in Mexico and the Philippines.

I love nature, go to science camps, and like to explore the outdoors, like the USC Catalina Island Science Camp going into depths in research in Marine Biology; and music camps like the USC Grammy Camp where we go behind the scenes into the life of a professional musician.

I train Mixed Martial Arts, and I eventually want to compete in it.