USA Fencing

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. — With three team golds across seven qualifying tournaments, Team USA Women's Foil is officially heading to the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris. 

The squad becomes the third to qualify for the Games for Team USA, joining Men’s Foil and Women’s Epee in punching their tickets to Paris. The names of the women who earn spots on that squad will be known by the end of April. 

The road to Paris was highlighted by outstanding performances throughout the season, including team gold medals at the Cairo World Cup in February 2024, the Novi Sad (Serbia) World Cup in December 2023, and the Tbilisi (Georgia) World Cup in June 2023. Additionally, Women’s Foil captured a silver medal at the Lima Zonals in June 2023. 

Combined with their strong finishes at all other tournaments this season, Team USA has secured a spot in the top 4 with no more Women's Foil team competitions remaining in the qualifying window.

With the qualification box checked, Phil Andrews, USA Fencing CEO, expressed his pride and optimism for the team's future.

"Everywhere our Women's Foil goes, they perform with skill, strategy and strong character," Andrews says. "But their journey to the Olympics is more than a series of medals. It’s a powerful statement of their spirit and the strong guidance of their coaches, starting with national coach Ralf Bissdorf. As Paris approaches, I know these women will continue to inspire younger fencers who dream of the Olympic stage.”

While the team's Olympic spot is secured, two elements remain unknown: team selection and team and individual seeding.

Athlete Selection

While we know that Women’s Foil will send a full squad, athlete selection has not been finalized. 

Team USA's full Women’s Foil squad for Paris will include three fencers who compete in both the individual and team events, plus a fourth "replacement athlete" who may be used in the team event.

The exact composition of the 3+1 athletes remains to be determined. Selection points are still up for grabs at the upcoming USA Fencing April NAC/Division I Championships in Salt Lake City, as well as FIE World Cup and Grand Prix tournaments. That will keep the anticipation high as we approach the Olympics.

• Senior Grand Prix — Individual event only, March 15–17 in Washington, D.C.

  • Points earned will impact USA Fencing athlete selection and individual Olympic seeding

• Senior World Cup — Individual and Team events, April 19–21 in Tbilisi, Georgia

  • Points earned will impact USA Fencing athlete selection and team and individual Olympic seeding

–Olympic Qualification Window Ends–

• April North American Cup and Division I National Championships, the final domestic event of Olympic selection window — April 25–28 in Salt Lake City, Utah

  • Points earned will impact USA Fencing athlete selection 

–Team USA Athlete Selection Period Ends–

• Senior World Cup — Individual and Team events, May 1–4, Hong Kong, China

  • Points earned will impact team and individual Olympic seeding

• Senior Grand Prix — Individual event only, May 17–19 in Shanghai, China

  • Points earned will impact individual Olympic seeding 

• Senior Pan American Zonal Championships — Individual and Team events, June 22–27 in San Salvador, El Salvador

  • Points earned will impact team and individual Olympic seeding

• 2024 Olympic Games — Individual and Team events, July 27–Aug. 4 in Paris, France

The Cairo World Cup was the last Women’s Foil team event in the Olympic qualifying window. 

The top four countries in each weapon are guaranteed a spot. After that, each zone (Asia-Oceania, Africa, Europe and the Americas) sends one nation in each weapon, as long as that team is ranked 5th through 16th overall.

Though their seeding order may change, those eight Women’s Foil teams for Paris are:

• Top 4: Italy, USA, France, Japan

• Top in Zone: Canada, China, Poland, Egypt

Here are some of the results that helped Team USA secure a Games spot:

• Gold at the Cairo World Cup (February 2024)

• Gold at the Novi Sad (Serbia) World Cup (December 2023)

• Gold at the Tbilisi (Georgia) World Cup (June 2023)

• Silver at the Lima Zonals (June 2023)

• Fourth at the 2023 Fencing World Championships in Milan (July 2023)

Women’s Foil becomes the third team to lock in its spot for Paris, joining Women’s Epee and Men’s Foil.  The future looks promising for additional qualifications in Women’s Saber and Men’s Saber.

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