American · Santa Monica, California, USA · Born 7 May 1957American beach volleyball pioneer nicknamed the 'King of the Beach,' who became the first player in history to reach 100 career tournament wins and formed the sport's most dominant partnership with Randy Stoklos.
Christopher St. John 'Sinjin' Smith was born on 7 May 1957 and began competing professionally in Southern California's two-man beach tournaments at just 15. He starred at UCLA as a setter, winning the national championship in his freshman year and again as a senior in 1979, when he was named the tournament's Most Outstanding Player. Smith's beach career began in earnest with UCLA teammate Jim Menges, winning his first Manhattan Open in 1979, before pairing with Karch Kiraly to become the sport's dominant early-1980s duo, winning the Manhattan Open together five times. When Kiraly committed full-time to the U.S. indoor national team, Smith partnered with Randy Stoklos, and the two became the most successful team in beach volleyball history, combining for 114 to 115 professional victories over a 15-year partnership that included five FIVB World Championships (1987, 1989, 1990, 1991) and dominance of the domestic AVP tour throughout the 1980s and early 1990s. Smith and Stoklos won the first Olympic-affiliated beach volleyball competition, a demonstration event at the 1992 Barcelona Games. By the time he retired in 2001, Smith had won 139 career tournaments and become the first player in the sport's history to reach the 100-win milestone, a mark since surpassed only by Kiraly. He competed at the sport's official Olympic debut at the 1996 Atlanta Games at age 39, losing a legendary quarterfinal battle to eventual champions Kiraly and Kent Steffes. Beyond competition, Smith helped found the Association of Volleyball Professionals in 1983 and later served as president of the FIVB World Beach Volleyball Council, helping engineer the sport's global growth and its path to the Olympics. He was inducted into the International Volleyball Hall of Fame in 2003 and continues to run beach volleyball camps in Santa Monica.
Becoming the first player in beach volleyball history to win 100 career tournaments, and forming the sport's most dominant partnership ever with Randy Stoklos
How They Played
Tactically astute all-round player renowned for pinpoint passing, spectacular defense, and an unrelenting competitive mentality that wore down opponents through consistency
Lasting Impact
Widely regarded as one of the founding legends of beach volleyball, whose on-court dominance and off-court leadership in building the AVP and FIVB tours helped transform the sport from a Southern California pastime into a global, Olympic discipline
Career Honours
- First player to reach 100 career beach volleyball tournament wins (139 total)
- 5x FIVB World Champion, with Randy Stoklos
- Winningest beach volleyball duo in history (114-115 wins with Stoklos)
- Inducted into the International Volleyball Hall of Fame (2003)
American Athletes