USA Fencing

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. — While the Super Bowl captivated audiences worldwide, USA Fencing’s athletes were busy making headlines of their own, securing four pivotal medals in a critical weekend of competition as the Olympic countdown intensifies. 

From Italy to Georgia and Spain to Peru, American fencers showed exciting skill and impressive teamwork, further cementing their status as top contenders for the upcoming Olympic Games.

At the Women’s and Men’s Foil Grand Prix in Turin, Italy, Lee Kiefer OLY of the Bluegrass Fencers’ Club, a Notre Dame alum and the reigning world No. 1, clinched her fifth Grand Prix gold, marking her first gold medal of the season. Kiefer’s victory adds to her impressive tally of 10 individual gold medals at the senior FIE level. 

Kiefer, who sits first on the women’s foil point standings list for Team USA, will look to carry this momentum into the next two tournaments for her weapon: Feb. 22–25 in Cairo, Egypt, and March 15–17 in Washington, D.C.

Nick Itkin OLY, also a Notre Dame graduate, secured his first individual World Cup or Grand Prix medal since 2020. Like Kiefer, Itkin is focused on those upcoming foil tournaments as he hopes to earn a spot at his second Olympic Games.

In the Men’s Saber World Cup in Tbilisi, Georgia, the squad of Eli Dershwitz OLY, Filip Dolegiewicz, Mitchell Saron and Colin Heathcock earned a bronze medal, further solidifying the team’s hopes of qualifying for the Paris Olympic Games.

Our Men’s Saber team entered the competition in Tbilisi as one of the world’s four best teams in the weapon, meaning they’re in position to qualify a full team for Paris. Sunday’s result ensures they’ll remain in those coveted places with only two World Cups remaining: March 1–3 in Padua, Italy, and March 22–24 in Budapest, Hungary.

This particular foursome shares more than a bronze medal from Tbilisi; they’re also all connected to the successful NCAA fencing team at Harvard University.

Dershwitz, the 2023 world champion, graduated from Harvard in 2019 after winning two NCAA championships. Dolegiewicz, a 2023 Harvard grad, won the 2022 NCAA championship, the same year fellow 2023 graduate Saron won the Ivy League title.

And Heathcock, the two-time Junior World Champion in the weapon, announced he’s planning to attend Harvard in the fall of 2024.

Elizabeth Tartakovsky, another Harvard standout, secured a bronze medal at the Women’s Saber World Cup in Lima, Peru. Tartakovsky's achievement not only marks her second career World Cup bronze but also enhances her prospects for Olympic qualification with Team USA.

In the team event in Lima, the squad of Maia Chamberlain, Lola Possick, Magda Skarbonkiewicz and Tartakovsky battled to a sixth-place finish. Importantly, that was above any rivals from the Americas zone, ensuring they’re still in Olympic qualifying position.

At the Women’s Epee World Cup in Barcelona, Spain, the team of Anne Cebula, Hadley Husisian, Kasia Nixon and Margherita Guzzi Vincenti, finished fourth in the team event. Their performance against formidable opponents underscores their position as the top nation in the Americas zone, with high hopes for the final World Cup in Nanjing, China.

Women’s Foil Individual Results

Gold: Lee Kiefer OLY

16th: Maia Weintraub

17th: Jacqueline Dubrovich OLY

18th: Lauren Scruggs

21st: Katerina Lung

38th: Zander Rhodes

52nd: Sabrina Massialas OLY

68th: Stefani Deschner

71st: Jaelyn Liu

72nd: Sara Taffel

88th: Emily Jing

161st: Alina Lee

Men’s Foil Individual Results

Bronze: Nick Itkin OLY

17th: Alexander Massialas OLY

18th: Gerek Meinhardt OLY

22nd: Miles Chamley-Watson OLY

31st: James Bourtis

48th: Chase Emmer

63rd: Marcello Olivares

87th: Ethan Gassner

93rd: Sidarth Kumbla

106th: Jack Oursler

172nd: Jeidus Deseranno

193rd: Spencer Burke

Women’s Saber Individual Results

Bronze: Elizabeth Tartakovsky

17th: Magda Skarbonkiewicz

24th: Tatiana Nazlymov

38th: Zander Rhodes

42nd: Maia Chamberlain

30th: Siobhan Sullivan

74th: Lola Possick

77th: Nora Burke

85th: Jadeyn Williams

105th: Atara Greenbaum

108th: Kara Linder

109th: Chloe Fox-Gitomer

Men’s Saber Individual Results

8th: Filip Dolegiewicz

9th: Eli Dershwitz OLY

12th: Colin Heathcock

28th: Daryl Homer OLY

30th: Lev BenAvram

40th: Mitchell Saron

54th: William Morrill

71st: Antonio Heathcock

73rd: Andrew Doddo

80th: Andrew Mackiewicz OLY

107th: Grant Williams

116th: Khalil Thompson OLY

Women’s Epee Individual Results

23rd: Kat Holmes OLY

30th: Isis Washington

50th: Hadley Husisian

56th: Kai Liu

65th: Amanda Pirkowski

67th: Margherita Guzzi Vincenti

70th: Anne Cebula

77th: Natalia Toby

115th: Kasia Nixon

150th: Miriam Grady

209th: Kyle Fallon

292nd: Tanishka Padhye