USA Fencing

MILAN, Italy — Team USA has put the finishing touches on its trip to Italy for the 2023 Fencing World Championships, and the news is quite good.

The United States is bringing home four medals from Senior Worlds:

• a historic gold in Men’s Saber for Eli Dershwitz OLY
• a promising silver for Nick Itkin OLY in Men’s Foil
• a bronze for Lee Kiefer OLY in Women’s Foil that extended her Senior Worlds medal streak to five
• a team bronze in Men’s Saber that marked Team USA’s first ever senior team men’s medal for that weapon.

The positive signs don’t end there. In the team events, countries fenced for more than gold, silver and bronze. Each match was important for Olympic qualification, where the difference between, say, a 10th-place finish and a 12th-place one could be significant.

That’s why if a team loses in the Round of 16 or beyond, they continue to “fence out” all the places. When our Women’s Epee team lost in the Round of 16 to Israel, for example, they moved into the 9-16 bracket. When they beat Egypt there, they advanced to the 9-12 bracket. They won again, this time defeating Hungary, to move into the 9-10 match, where Estonia beat Team USA by a single point.

That 10th place finish (higher than any other country from our zone), coupled with their team gold at the Pan-American Championships, helps our Women’s Epee team retain its qualifying position for Paris.

While our Women’s and Men’s Foil teams were hoping to medal in Milan, their fourth-place finishes (higher than others from our zone) keep Team USA in Olympic qualifying position.

And in Women’s and Men’s Saber, team finishes of seventh and third (once again higher than our zonal rivals) help our hopes for qualification.

Team USA entered Senior Worlds with five of our six teams in Olympic qualifying position, meaning we’d get to send a full squad to Paris for both the team and individual events in five of six weapons. After Senior Worlds, all five teams still sit in Olympic qualifying position.

That’s promising news for Team USA fans as the 2023-24 FIE season begins for most weapons this November.

Women’s Saber — Team (Elizabeth Tartakovsky, Magda Skarbonkiewicz, Maia Chamberlain, Tatiana Nazlymov): 7th Place

• Round of 32: Defeated India, 45-23
• Round of 16: Defeated China, 45-40
• Quarterfinals: Lost to Ukraine, 45-44
• 5-8 Placement Match: Lost to Japan, 45-42
• 7-8 Placement Match: Defeated Greece, 45-32

Men’s Foil — Team (Alexander Massialas OLY, Gerek Meinhardt OLY, Nick Itkin OLY, Miles Chamley-Watson OLY): 4th Place

• Round of 32: Defeated Iraq, 45-12
• Round of 16: Defeated Brazil, 45-19
• Quarterfinals: Defeated Poland, 45-29
• Semifinals: Lost to China, 45-35
• Bronze Medal Match: Lost to Hong Kong, China, 45-31

See dozens of great photos here.