Road to Paris 2024: USA’s World Champion Fencer Secures Olympic Berth, Eyes Maiden Title on 3rd Attempt

The Olympic Games are only five months away, and the USA’s top athletes are all vying for a place on the national team. Along with other stars, the biggest fencing celebrities in the country are also en route to bring glory and honor. While the women’s epee team has already taken its first step on the road to Paris 2024, more saber-yielders are joining their ranks every day.

Only a couple of days ago, the USA national fencing team made the headlines with its double qualification galore for the Olympics. The women’s saber team secured its place for both the individual and team events, and now, another Olympic veteran has ensured that his spot in Team USA won’t be contested at the upcoming Budapest World Cup.

Road to Paris 2024 announces another participant

The official USA Fencing’s recent Instagram post has made sure that the anticipation for 28-year-old Eli Dershwitz’s third Olympic journey hits all the right notes. The winner of the gold medal at last year’s World Championships in Milan, Dershwitz is still in quest for the coveted Olympic novelty. Now, after the history-making fencer started the ball rolling for the road to Paris 2024, his monumental feat had to be given a nod by the country’s apex body. “Eli Dershwitz has booked his ticket to Paris, qualifying in both the individual and team events for Men’s Saber!“, it announced.

“The 2023 World Champion is headed to his third Olympic Games as a representative of Team USA.“, reiterates the post once again to mention how his decade-long quest for the ultimate prize remains unwavering as the road to Paris 2024 continues to attract more traffic.

The post went ahead further to mention the long list of people who stood firm in Dershwitz’s corner throughout his endeavor. “Eli would like to thank his coach, Aleks Ochocki, former coaches Zoran Tulum and Jarek Koniusz, his clubmates at Tim Morehouse Fencing Club, his Harvard Fencing Team family“, the post further wrote. However, it wasn’t a look incident for the Harvard alum.

Young and old fencers come together for Team USA

At last year’s World Championships, Dershwitz won six bouts in Milan, Italy. His phenomenal run was wrapped in a more-than-decent manner as he took down the world’s No. 1 fencer Sandro Bazadze of Georgia in the final match. With that, Eli became the first US fencer to win gold at the World Championships in the saber event. Understandably, his hopes of one last ride for the Olympics were made clear right then.

Read more: USA’s Fencing Stars Shine Bright on Foreign Soil With 2 Podium Finishes at the Cairo World Cup

On that occasion, Eli said, “I’ve been working most of my life for this moment, this tournament, and towards Paris 2024. Hoping my third Olympic Games is the one.” And now, as he will look to make his third, and possibly last, Olympics one to remember, he is not alone on that road.

Eli will be joined by 18-year-old Colin Heathcock, who started 2024 with a gold to his name at the Tunis Grand Prix in January. Finishing the 2022/23 season as the world’s top-ranked junior fencer, Heathcock is poised to make waves in Paris later this year. Whose fencing skills are you most eager to swoon over at the 2024 Olympics? Let us know below.

Also Read: Road to Paris 2024: USA Fencing Teams Shines Bright by Securing Double Qualification to Olympics