[3] Smith was diagnosed with cerebral palsy at one year of age and went to a developmental centre in Winchester for disabled children.

He became the youngest-ever player to win the British Boccia Championships at the age of fourteen and won numerous national titles in other sports.

From age 16 Smith attended Alton College (part of Treloar) to complete his A'levels in physics and maths.

However, Smith was able to set up a permanent base in Swansea with the sports support services and facilities necessary to remain successful.

He had a disappointing second major in 2006, this time representing Great Britain, where he finished 13th and the team received a bronze at the World Championships in Rio.

In 2016, Smith claimed bronze at the World Individual Championships in Beijing having lost once in the pool stages and losing again to Tadtong.

In Rio, Smith recovered from the disappointment of team failure and the loss of a must-win pool game to beat his long-term Thailand rival for the first time.

Glynn Tromans took over coaching after Rio and Smith won the European championships for the third time, remaining undefeated during the whole 2017 season.

After suffering a few technical issues in the pool, Smith found his top form for the quarters, semis and final matches.

Smith played live on C4 for the first time in front of millions of people to win the Gold and defend his title.

[4] In the 2024 Summer Paralympics, David came 4th in the individual Boccia and 5th in the Mixed team, alongside Claire Taggart and Kayleigh Haggo.

Smith is a strong advocate of independent living for disabled people and a critic of successive government cuts to spending on social care.