FENCING AT THE PAN AM GAMES#

Fifteen fencers from the United States, including Olympic medalists, Olympic hopefuls and talented teenagers, will represent Team USA at the Pan American Games Santiago 2023.

The fencing competition, set for Oct. 30 to Nov. 4, will bring together 15 nations from across the region, including USA Fencing’s nearest neighbors — Canada and Mexico — as well as some of the best fencers from Central America, the Caribbean and South America.

While this competition doesn’t count toward qualification or rankings for the Olympics Games Paris 2024, the tournament has historically served as an opportunity for Team USA fencers to sharpen their skills against the region’s best, build team camaraderie and experience the atmosphere at one of the largest multisport competitions in the world.

Team USA has earned at least one medal in fencing at every Pan American Games since the very first one in 1951. The United States leads the overall fencing medal count with 178 total medals, including 80 gold. Cuba is second with 118 total medals, followed by Argentina with 55.

Of the 54 summer sports in which Team USA has medaled at the Pan Am Games, fencing is the United States’ sixth-most-successful by total gold medals, trailing swimming, athletics, shooting, wrestling and artistic gymnastics. 

At the Pan American Games Lima 2019, the United States medaled in 10 of 12 fencing events, earning individual and team gold in every discipline except Men’s Epee. Team USA hopes to defend its gold medals at this competition.

This year, Team USA will compete in five of six disciplines: Men’s Epee, Women’s Foil, Men’s Foil, Women’s Saber and Men’s Saber.

• Lee Kiefer — Tokyo Olympic Champion Lee Kiefer ended the 2022-23 season ranked No. 1 in the world and will look to continue that strong fencing as the Paris Games approach. She’ll be striving for her fourth straight Pan American Games gold in Santiago after winning her first in2011 when she was just 17.
• Gerek Meinhardt — The four-time Olympian, two-time Olympic bronze medalist and husband of Olympic Champion Lee Kiefer finished the 2022-23 season as the world No. 2 in men’s foil. He’ll hope to continue that strong run as he defends his Pan American Games gold in Santiago and trains for a stunning fifth Olympic Games.
• Nick Itkin — The 2020 Olympic bronze medalist is fresh off his best finish yet—a silver medal at the 2023 FIE Fencing World Championships in front of a raucous crowd in Milan, Italy. Itkin will be headed to Santiago for his second Pan American Games, having won team gold alongside Gerek Meinhardt and Race Imboden in 2019.
• Magda Skarbonkiewicz — The 17-year-old women’s saber fencer from Oregon won team and individual gold at the 2023 Pan American Senior Championships against a similar grouping of nations from the region. The result, along with her second straight Junior Women’s Saber world championship in April, capped off a stellar season for Skarbonkiewicz, who is hoping to make her first Olympic team next year.

Because of the tournament’s smaller size, individual events will proceed from pools directly into the Round of 16. Team events will feature eight countries, so everyone will start in the quarterfinals. All places will be “fenced out,” meaning a team that loses in the quarterfinals will move to a 5-8 bracket and keep fencing to determine their final placement.