2026 Junior Olympics, Day 3 Recap: Adapting on the Fly and Finding Confidence in Kansas City

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — In fencing, the winner is often the athlete who can adapt fastest when Plan A stops working.

Martina Fernandez (Nellya Fencers) knows that lesson well. On her way to the Cadet Women’s Saber national championship, Fernandez realized early that her usual attacking game wasn’t landing. Rather than force the issue, she adjusted.

“It was working a lot in the beginning,” she says. “And then I had to use more of my attacks towards the end. I did just a little bit of everything.”

That ability to shift gears helped Fernandez claim one of six national titles on Sunday, Day 3 of the 2026 Junior Olympics in Kansas City. It’s a skill she says is sharpened daily in practice.

“I'll be at practice with my friends,” she says, “and each one has a different strategy. So I have to mix it around and really get used to everyone.”

Fernandez says that winning the national championship, while not her final goal, serves both as validation for her hard work and a confidence-builder for the future.

“It's giving me a lot of confidence, because I can see where I can be,” she says. “And it's honestly just the greatest feeling.”

Winning is a pretty great feeling for Fernandez’s coaches, too. At championship events like the Junior Olympics, gold medalists are given a coach’s medal they can award to a coach of their choosing. It’s a rare chance for a coach to get some bling they can wear in recognition of their hard work.

“I mean, I just want to thank all my coaches, especially Terrence [Lasker],” Fernandez says. “He's been there since I started, and giving him the medal is really to show my thanks and show how far I've come.”

Another fencer measuring just how far she’s come is Scarlett Lee (New York Fencing Academy). On Sunday, Lee earned her first Junior national title by winning Junior Women’s Epee — a medal she ranks among the most meaningful of her career.

And when did she begin to believe it might be her day?

“Actually never,” she says. “I didn't expect myself to do this. In pools, I was like, Top 16 is good enough. And then after I made the Top 16, I just kept on fighting and fighting.”

Lee says she avoids thinking too far ahead, or even too specifically, during competition. That includes steering clear of knowing who she’ll face next.

“I just have my parents check what strip I'm on, and I just go,” she says. “I overthink too much, and it affects my fencing a lot to know who I’m up against. I’m not confident in myself, sometimes.”

Confidence, of course, has a way of building quickly — especially when it’s reinforced by a gold medal around your neck.