Peter Smessaert was born in Belgium but emigrated to the United States as a youth. Smessaert was runner-up in the 1928 US Championship road race. After the 1928 Olympics, where he represented the Belgium-American Athletic Club, he and his family settled in Georgia, where Smessaert became a top trap shooter. He was a member of the National Rifle Association, Amateur Trap Shooters Association, McHenry Gun Club, and the Professional Bike Riders Association. Smessaert worked for many years as a stationary engineer, retiring in 1973