Team USA’s Men’s Foil Fencers Aim To Parry Their Way To Gold: “Together, We Are Unstoppable”

The members of Team USA’s men’s foil fencing squad have their differences.

Miles Chamley-Watson and Gerek Meinhardt’s pre-competition caffeine routine includes coffee, while Nick Itkin and Alexander Massialas prefer tea. Meinhardt calls himself “even-keeled”; Chamley-Watson freely admits, “I’m crazy — I bring the intensity.” Three are in their 30s, while Itkin — ranked No. 1 internationally as an individual foil fencer — is 24.

All four agree about one thing, though: They are going for gold in Paris. If they succeed, it could be the United States’ first Olympic title in any team fencing event.

“It’s our chemistry that makes us so right,” Massialas, 30, said. “Three of our team members have been together since 2009, and Nick has been on the team since 2019. We have that kind of brotherhood and camaraderie, and that’s something that’s so unique in the sport.”

Experience is on their side. Meinhardt and Massialas were members of the bronze-medal teams at the 2016 and 2020 Games (Massialas also brought home an individual silver medal in 2016). Chamley-Watson was on the 2016 squad, while Itkin — the relative newcomer — was on the 2020 team.

All told, they hold 25 world team and individual medals.

“Individually, we are amazing; together, we’re unstoppable, I think,” Chamley-Watson, 35, said. “I love, love my boys. And I think if we can just get it all together, we can make history together.”

Fittingly, the fencers clinched their spot at the Paris Games by winning the Paris World Cup in January, defeating strong teams from Japan and Italy. They are currently ranked No. 3 in the world, behind those two teams.

“We’ve been ranked No. 1 going into the past couple Olympics and came home with bronze medals, which was a bit of a disappointment but obviously still something to be proud of,” Meinhardt, 34, said.

“Going into this one, we’re not going to be ranked No. 1, and I don’t think that changes our chances at all,” he added. “I think we still have some unfinished business and are definitely capable.”

Chamley-Watson agrees: The ranking is meaningless.

“As long as you’re good on one day, that’s what matters,” he said. “So as long as you put it all together, you’re there.”

In Paris, the men’s team foil event is scheduled as the finale of the fencing events on Sunday, Aug. 4.

Each match features the three fencers on each team competing in a round robin, with nine three-minute bouts to five points. The winning team is the one that reaches 45 total points first or is leading after the end of the nine bouts. The fourth member of each team is an alternate and can be subbed in between bouts for any reason, including illness, injury or strategy.

How the fencers put it all together is a blend of chemistry and experience. Chamley-Watson said he is particularly good at rallying the team to come back from deficits, while Meinhardt cites his ability to help keep everyone focused.

“I’m pretty good at keeping our heads straight and just moving forward and doing what’s needed,” Meinhardt said. “And I think a lot of that is just my personality, but also having been on so many teams where there have been disappointments and there have been successes.”

Massialas sees his role as that of a closer.

“I think what I bring is consistency at the end,” he said. “Whether it’s operating from a lead and being able to lock it down and bring us home, or operating from a deficit and knowing my back is against the wall. I’ll do whatever I can do, to fight for our team to get that victory.”

Itkin, winner of an individual silver medal at the 2023 world championships, thinks the four athletes will hit their peak in Paris.

“I joined the team when I was 19, and they were winning everything at that point,” he said. “So they just kind of took me under their wing. Now, we’re really close, after so many years training together, eating together. We know each other so well. And I don’t think we’ve ever been so motivated.”

Beyond Men’s Foil

The men’s foil team is one of several U.S. fencing squads with realistic medal hopes. The men’s saber team, including reigning world champion Eli Dershwitz, won world bronze in 2023 and heads to Paris ranked No. 2. Lee Kiefer, winner of individual foil gold in Tokyo, leads the No. 2 women’s foil team, while the women’s epee squad arrives in Paris ranked No. 4.

Phil Andrews, USA Fencing’s CEO, thinks U.S. fencers have a chance of duplicating or even improving upon their breakthrough performance at the 2008 Games in Beijing, when Mariel Zagunis became the first U.S. fencer to win Olympic gold and Team USA brought home six total medals.

“If you look at both men’s and women’s foil, you’ve got people ranked in the top 16 in the world on a team together,” Andrews said. “And they’ve got the track records of medaling frequently, both as individuals and as a team.

“Then if you look at men’s saber, you’ve got the world champion (Dershwitz), and they have a track record of, I think, three golds and one silver in the last four world cups,” he added. “And women’s saber has a shot — they’re young, but they have a shot.”

Confidence is high, but as befits his role as a closer, Massialas is staying grounded.

“No matter what you do well, or do poorly, over the season, it’s really about how you wake up on that day,” he said. “Because there are several (teams) that could fence amazing and win the whole thing. And I think our team is very well-positioned to be in that spot. But now, it’s all about execution.”

Lynn Rutherford has covered five Olympic Games, including the 2022 Winter Games in Beijing for TeamUSA.org. Based in New York, she is a freelance contributor to TeamUSA.org on behalf of Red Line Editorial, Inc.