Eleanor Townsend Smart (born 1995),[2] also known as Ellie Smart, is an American high diver. She placed third at the 2022 Red Bull Cliff Diving World Series.
Smart was born on October 20, 1995.[1] She grew up in Fairway, Kansas[3] and began diving at age 5.[4] Smart attended Shawnee Mission East High School in Prairie Village, Kansas before moving to Texas after her freshman year to more seriously pursue her athletic career in Texas.[5]
She attended the University of California at Berkeley[6] and graduated in 2016. After graduation, she pursued master's degree program in sports psychology.[3]
Smart competed on the diving team for two seasons at the University of California at Berkeley.[5]
She co-founded the Clean Cliffs Project with partner and fellow diver Owen Weymouth in 2017.[7][4] In 2017, she made her Red Bull Cliff Diving World Series debut as a wildcard at the opening event in Inis Mór, Ireland. She scored 195.35 points, placing fifth.[5] Smart won a bronze medal in high diving at the 2018 FINA High Diving World Cup, her world cup debut.[8][9] 2019 was Smart's first season as a permanent diver on the Red Bull Cliff Diving World Series. She placed second at the event in Mostar, Bosnia and Herzegovina that season.[10] In 2022, Smart placed second overall at the Red Bull World Series.[11] She placed third in the Mostar event at the 2023 Red Bull Cliff Diving World Series,[12] and fourth in the series overall.[13]
Since 2021, she has been the CEO of High Dive Global, which she founded to promote and develop the sport of high diving.[7]
Smart placed ninth in the women's 20-metre at the 2024 World Aquatics Championships.[14] She was in fourth place after the first two rounds of diving.[15] In 2024, she was appointed to the Board of Directors of the International Swimming Hall of Fame.[7]
Smart splits her time between Fort Lauderdale and Prairie Village.[6]
