“The best fencers are physically strong but they’re a lot smarter as well,” Nick Itkin says. Four Americans — Gerek Meinhardt, Alex Massialas, Race Imboden and Itkin — rank in the world’s Top 10. Itkin inherited his love of the sport from a father who emigrated from Ukraine and started the Los Angeles International Fencing Center in 2003. This season, I knew I was close.”AdvertisementThe next step — making the Olympic team — required fighting through a logjam. If they can break through for gold this time, it will make them the first American team to win an Olympic title in team fencing.

Source: Los Angeles Times July 18, 2021 11:02 UTC