Junior & Cadet Worlds, Day 9: Junior Men's Epee Team Claims First-Ever World Title; Women Extend Medal Streak to Five

RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil — Down six touches with three bouts to go, the U.S. Junior Men's Epee team needed someone to step up. Elijah Imrek answered.

The Alliance Fencing Academy fencer delivered an 8-2 leg against Israel's Mordechai Milu Lachman in Leg 7 of the gold medal final, erasing a 29-23 deficit and tying the score at 31-31 in one of the most pivotal moments of the entire tournament. From there, Nathaniel Wimmer (Elite Fencing Academy) went 5-0 in Leg 8, and Simon Lioznyansky (University of Pennsylvania, Alliance Fencing Academy) closed it out 9-8 in the final leg — giving Team USA a 45-39 victory and its first-ever Junior Men's Epee Team world title on Day 9 of the 2026 Junior & Cadet Fencing World Championships.

Since the Junior Men's Epee Team event was introduced in 1998, the United States had never won gold in 28 attempts. Today, in Rio, that changed.

"The first time winning for men feels amazing," said Lioznyansky. "We always hope to win. We kind of went into the day thinking we're fencing our absolute best — it doesn't matter win or lose, we just give it our all each touch."

The road to gold was anything but straightforward. The fifth-seeded Americans defeated Colombia 45-21, Germany 45-43 in a tense two-touch thriller, fourth-seeded Italy 45-35 and China 45-31 — before facing Israel in the final. When Israel surged ahead 29-23, it looked as though the Americans might fall short.

Imrek — younger brother of three-time Junior/Cadet Worlds medalist Samuel Imrek — approached his decisive bout with a clear mindset.

"I work best when I'm not under too much pressure," he said. "I just told myself, if I lose, it is what it is. I have a lot to gain. So I just fenced the best that I could."

From the sideline, his teammates — and their Coach, Tommi Hurme — felt every touch.

"When Elijah made that comeback, each touch, we were getting more and more hyped," Lioznyansky said. "We wanted to keep the energy high, regardless of being down six touches. But the hope — that feeling of 'we're winning this, we're winning this' — was getting higher and higher. And the entire room was just electric."

Wimmer's role in the final was equally notable. Coming off an individual silver in Junior Men's Epee on Day 7, he anchored the team's closing stretch with a dominant 5-0 leg — a fitting bookend to one of the most accomplished individual weeks any American fencer has had at this tournament. James Sennewald (Alliance Fencing Academy, University of Notre Dame) contributed steadily throughout.

In closing, Lioznyansky made sure to acknowledge everyone who helped make the moment possible.

"We dedicate this to all the coaches who helped us," he said. "Three of us go to Alliance Fencing Academy, so we dedicated it to Coach Dorian, who was here at the tournament. And to Nathaniel's coach, who was here coaching during juniors. To everyone at USA Fencing, all the volunteers at the venue who made the tournament possible — and of course to all our parents, families, siblings and friends who supported us even when we sometimes had bad results."

The team was also cheered on throughout the day by a spirited group of special cheers — something they had been saving specifically for the World Championships.

"We have our own special cheers that we haven't done at previous World Cups," Lioznyansky said. "We were just trying to have a fresh start here."

On the women's side, the Junior Women's Epee team of Natalya Cafasso (Olympia Fencing Center), Regina Lee (Swords Fencing Studio), Leehi Machulsky (Academy of Fencing Masters, Princeton University) and Jolie Korfonta (DC Fencers Club, Savage Fencing Club) earned bronze — extending Team USA's Junior Women's Epee Team medal streak to five consecutive years. Machulsky, who was also part of the 2024 gold medal team and the 2025 bronze medal team, has now earned three consecutive Junior Women's Epee Team medals.

The medal streak — bronze in 2022, silver in 2023, gold in 2024, bronze in 2025 and bronze in 2026 — is among the most consistent runs any nation has produced in a single team event at this level.

Team USA finished the 2026 Junior & Cadet Fencing World Championships with 13 medals — matching the program's output from last year's championships in Wuxi, China, and reaffirming the United States' standing as one of the world's premier fencing nations at the Junior and Cadet level.

Junior Women's Epee Team

Bronze: Natalya Cafasso (Olympia Fencing Center), Regina Lee (Swords Fencing Studio), Leehi Machulsky (Academy of Fencing Masters, Princeton University), Jolie Korfonta (DC Fencers Club, Savage Fencing Club)

Junior Men's Epee Team

Gold: Nathaniel Wimmer (Elite Fencing Academy), Elijah Imrek (Alliance Fencing Academy, University of Notre Dame), Simon Lioznyansky (University of Pennsylvania, Alliance Fencing Academy), James Sennewald (Alliance Fencing Academy, University of Notre Dame)