USA Fencing

The U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Committee announced on Monday that two-time Senior World team bronze medalist Daria Schneider (Brookline, Mass.) will serve as an Athletes’ Advisory Council representative on the USOPC Board of Directors beginning in January.

Schneider will serve as one of three AAC representatives on the 15-person board, joining 2010 Olympic Champion bobsledder Steve Mesler and five-time Paralympic Champion swimmer Brad Snyder who have held their positions since 2015 and 2019, respectively.

“I am honored to have been elected by my fellow AAC members to serve on the USOPC Board of Directors.  I have felt incredibly supported by my fellow athletes and teammates within USA Fencing who have guided and mentored me while serving our NGB and on the AAC,” Schneider said. “Their guidance and support is a testament to the development of our athlete community within USA Fencing and the progress we have made in learning how to serve and better the future of our NGB.  I look forward to bringing this experience to my new role and, in turn, to the entire NGB family. 

Schneider represented the United States at four straight Senior World Championships (2009-2012), helping the U.S. Women’s Saber Team win back-to-back bronze medals in 2011 and 2012. A 2011 USA Fencing Division I National Champion, Schneider also won gold for Columbia at the 2007 NCAA Championships.

Upon graduation from Columbia with a Bachelor’s degree in Russian literature, Schneider returned as an assistant coach for the Lions for three years and served as the team’s director of operations from 2013-14. Schneider retired from competition in 2016 and accepted a position as the head coach for the women’s fencing team at Cornell University. During her tenure with the Big Red, Schneider led the team to a program record 19 wins in 2016-17. The 2018 Ivy League Co-Coach of the Year had eight athletes qualify for the NCAA Championships and three earn All-Ivy honors during her three seasons with the program.

In 2019, Schneider became the first woman to be named head coach of the Harvard Men’s and Women’s Fencing Teams. In her first season, Schneider guided the men’s team to a record 20 wins over the season and its first outright Ivy League title since 2013 after which Schneider was named the Ivy League’s Men’s Fencing Coach of the Year. With Schneider at the helm, Harvard also qualified 11 fencers for the 2020 NCAA Championships prior to the cancellation of the event due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Schneider has served as an athlete representative on the USA Fencing Board of Directors since 2012 and as fencing’s athlete representative to the USOPC Athletes’ Advisory Council since 2017. Following her retirement from competition, she remains actively involved in supporting Team USA, serving as team captain at the last two Senior World Championships, including the 2018 Worlds where the United States won a record six medals, including first-ever titles by the women’s foil and epee teams.