USA Fencing

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — A bout that’s tied with just one point left is considered, by many, to be perfect. It’s known as “la belle” — French for “the beautiful” — and it’s so special that opponents often salute one another when a bout reaches that make-or-break point (4-4, 9-9 or 14-14).

So when Julie Seal (Valkyrie Fencing Club) battled back from down 6-9 to tie her semifinal bout at 9, all she could do was smile and salute her opponent.

“It was super cool because the Vets take the opportunity to give each other the nod — like, that is great fencing,” she says. “It’s just a lot of love in the room and so satisfying to fence an opponent that respects you and you respect them back. It's just what fencing is supposed to be.”

Seal won that decisive touch and went on to win in the gold medal final, defeating teammate Jane Carter (Marx Fencing Academy/Tanner City Fencers Club) to take home the gold medal and world championship in Vet-50 Women’s Foil.

The medals from Seal and Carter were two of the nine medals won by Team USA on  Wednesday, Day 1 of the 2023 FIE Veteran Fencing World Championships, hosted by USA Fencing in Daytona Beach, Fla. 

Seal won the 2022 Vet-50 Women’s Saber World Championship a year ago in Croatia. That means with her foil win on Wednesday, Seal becomes the first American — woman or man — to win a Vet World championship in two different weapons. She’s also just the second woman in the world to win Vet titles in the specific combo of foil and saber (the other is Marie-Chantal Depetris-Demaille of France).

For Seal, who finished 14th in the foil event last year, the win is something of a redemption opportunity.

“Last year, I lost to the world champion by only one point in overtime,” Seal says. “So I knew that I had the technical and the physical ability to do it. And I just decided, don’t be afraid to have a goal and just do everything for it.”

Jennette Starks-Faulkner (Connecticut Fencers Club) had a goal, too, but she wasn’t sure that she’d be able to top last year’s silver medal in Vet-60 Women’s Foil.

Turns out she did one better, winning gold and the world championship — her fourth (2014, 2016, 2019, 2023). 

“I’m happy, and I'm surprised,” she says. “But I did train really hard for this. It's more of a surprise because the day was going kind of funky. I was having a lot of equipment trouble, a little bit of cramping. And so I had to work hard each bout.”

Mark Lundborg (Washington Fencing Academy) won his third Vet World championship in a row, adding another gold to his win in 2019 (50-59 age bracket) and 2022 (60-69). There was no Vet Worlds in 2020 or 2021.

Lundborg’s win came 10-9 against 2018 Vet World Champion Geza Kas of France. And to Lundborg, this victory is just as surprising as the previous two.

When he won in 2019, Lundborg competed in the 50-59 bracket as a 59-year-old. Some of the men he fenced were eight or nine years younger. He entered the tournament as one of the lowest seeds but shocked everyone by winning it all.

After two Vet Worlds were canceled because of the pandemic, Lundborg won again — this time in the 60-69 bracket. And on Wednesday, he made it three in a row. 

“Three in a row is, like, beyond insane,” he says. “I mean, I'm a nobody. I don’t even have a coach. It's an incredible feeling — I don't even want to tell you.”

For Joseph Streb (Columbus International Fencing Academy and Royal Arts Fencing Academy), the win was 17 Vet Worlds in the making. After five individual medals at Vet Worlds, Streb’s win in Vet-70 Men’s Saber was his first individual gold.

“It's been a long time coming,” he says. “I've been on 17 Veterans World Championship teams. And these are tough events. So it's very difficult. As I oftentimes say, it's always good to win regardless of age.”

• Julie Seal earned her first individual medal in Vet Foil and her second world championship overall (joining her 2022 title in Vet-50 Women’s Saber). 

• Jennette Starks-Faulkner grabbed her 10th individual medal at Vet Worlds and her fourth world championship (2014, 2016, 2019, 2023). 

• Joseph Streb had won five individual medals at Vet Worlds, but this is his first individual gold. 

• Mark Lundborg has now won world championships at three Vet Worlds in a row. He won in the 50-59 bracket in 2019 and the 60-69 bracket last year in Croatia.

Vet-50 Women’s Foil

Gold and World Champion: Julie Seal (USA)

Silver: Jane Carter (USA)

Bronze: Larisa Salamandra (AIN)

Bronze: Francesca Zurlo (Italy)

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17th: Celine De La Foscade-Condon

23rd: Bonnie Hennig-Trestman 

Vet-60 Women’s Foil

Gold and World Champion: Jennette Starks-Faulkner (USA)

Silver: Astrid Kircheis (Germany)

Bronze: Gillian Worman (Great Britain)

Bronze: Anne-Marie Walters (USA)

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5th: George Love

9th: Badger Merritt

Vet-70 Women’s Foil

Gold and World Champion: Iris Gardini (Italy)

Silver: Brigitte Delacour (France)

Bronze: Jude Offerle (USA)

Bronze: Marja-Liisa Tuulikki Someroja (Finland)

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7th: Deborah Theriault

10th: Joanne Stevens

19th: Patricia Lutton

Vet-50 Men’s Saber

Gold and World Champion: Lorenzo Giacinto Morretta (Italy)

Silver: Svend Berger (Germany)

Bronze: Hartmut Wrase (Germany)

Bronze: Olivier Esquerre (France)

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10th: Steve Dashnaw

14th: Ron Thornton

18th: Michael Bacon

20th: Edward Choi

Vet-60 Men’s Saber

Gold and World Champion: Mark Lundborg (USA)

Silver: Geza Kas (France)

Bronze: Steven Heck (USA)

Bronze: Alberto Feira Chios (Italy)

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6th: Chris Matt

15th: Todd Bukowski

Vet-70 Men’s Saber

Gold and World Champion: Joseph Streb (USA)

Silver: Riccardo Carmina (Italy)

Bronze: Carl Morris (Great Britain)

Bronze: Garik Gutman (USA)

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8th: David Seuss

15th: Michael Szathmary

Find Day 1 photos on the USA Fencing Facebook page.

Find video from the tournament on the FIE YouTube channel.