USA Fencing

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — After Italy won both the Vet Women’s Saber and Vet Men’s Epee team events last year in Croatia, this year it was Team USA’s turn to return the favor.

“It’s back in good hands,” says Charlie Schneider.

On Saturday at the 2023 FIE Veteran Fencing World Championships, the squad of Joe Deucher, Walt Dragonetti, Fred Frank, James Newsome, Jon Normile and Charlie Schneider helped Team USA get its fourth world championship in the Vet Men’s Epee team event in the last five tries. Team USA won in 2017, 2018 and 2019 before ceding the crown to Italy in 2022.

For Schneider, who has been fencing for 56 years, the moment was profoundly special.

“This is my bucket list, right here,” he says. “It's remarkable that I have a gold medal. It’s something that I dreamed about, ever since I was watching the Olympics. As a teenager, I wanted to be on a world championship team.”

Normile knows what it’s like to be a world champion. He was part of the title-winning team in 2017, 2018 and 2019 and won the 2023 individual Vet-50 title on Friday.

And at the beginning of the day, he issued a light-hearted — but completely accurate — challenge to his teammates.

“He said, ‘you know, I've been here and I've never not won a world championship with the team,’” Frank says. “That was a heavy challenge you laid down. These guys did it.”

Newsome, a World Champion for the first time, says the team bonded on the journey to Daytona Beach.

“The biggest thing for me is you get great friendships,” he says. “We come from different backgrounds. Some of us have had a lot of coaching, some of us have had no coaching. But we all find a way to be competitive and to come out. Sometimes that means traveling. Sometimes it means just working at home alone by yourself to hone your skills and keep going. And that's what makes a team like this great.”

Deucher, also a first-time World Champion, says that he feels lucky to have the opportunity to fence at the highest level.

“I love to say, the thing about fencing is, it's great to be able to sit there and hit somebody with metal — legally. It’s tons of fun,” he says. “We're lucky to get the opportunity. I mean, our family supporting us, their heart rates are going crazy, trying to cheer us on or dealing with stuff at home while we can hang out here and have a ton of fun and represent the United States. I mean, what can be better?”

Vet Women's Saber Shines Bright

For the Team USA roster of 72 talented athletes, the only thing better than hearing the national anthem played at the tournament is hearing it played twice.

Team USA delivered in the Vet Women’s Saber team event, with the group of Jeannine Bender, Frauke Berman, Jane Eyre, Lydia Fabry, Robin Pernice and Julie Seal ending a six-year drought in the event for the Americans. It’s Team USA’s first world championship in the Vet Women’s Saber team since 2017. (Italy won in 2022 and 2018, and Great Britain won in 2019. Vet Worlds wasn’t held in 2020 or 2021.)

“We had an excellent team dynamic,” Pernice says. “We didn't have any selfishness. We decided who would be stronger against a certain opponent, and everybody was willing to concede and let somebody else fence. We really did it as a team.”

Bender, who fenced in the team event for the first time, says she loved the camaraderie and team spirit.

“It’s just freaking awesome,” she says. “These ladies are just the greatest. I just want to say thank you to everybody.”

The women said that fencing on home soil was great because it meant more people — like Bender’s sister — could come out to cheer on Team USA. But bigger crowds means bigger pressure as the women didn’t want to disappoint those fans.

“It was a great learning experience,” says fellow first-time Vet Worlds team fencer Berman. “I’d like to thank the team. They’re the stars who have done it before.”

So with the gold medals around their necks (not to mention individual medals for many of the women on the team), what does this Super Six want to do next?

Seal says, with a smile: “We’re going to Disney World!”

Women’s Saber Team

Gold and 2023 Veteran World Champion: USA (Jeannine Bender, Frauke Berman, Jane Eyre, Lydia Fabry, Robin Pernice, Julie Seal)

Silver: Great Britain (Silvia Brown, Jacqueline Esimaje-Heath, Vanessa Hendra, Jane Hutchison, Michele Narey, Susan Uff)

Bronze: Italy (Maria Teresa Conconi, Iris Gardini, Marinella Garzini, Gabriella Lo Muzio, Nellina Minto, Rosangela Topatigh)

Men’s Epee Team

Gold and 2023 Veteran World Champion: USA (Joe Deucher, Walt Dragonetti, Fred Frank, James Newsome, Jon Normile, Charlie Schneider)

Silver: Hungary (Robert Bardi, Attila Csajbok, Attila Csikos, Laszlo Imreh, Roland Kamany, Gyorgy Liptak)

Bronze: France (Antoine Chartier, Francois Gaudry, Herve Le Barbier, Gildas Le Treut, Francois Ringeissen, Francois Wacquez)

Find Day 4 photos on the USA Fencing Facebook page.

Find video from the tournament on the FIE YouTube channel.