Jason Pryor, the top men’s epee fencer in the United States, has qualified for his first Olympic team as the highest ranked fencer in the FIE Adjusted Official Ranking in the Americas zone.
Currently ranked No. 1 in the United States and No. 43 in the world, Pryor has been making him presence felt on the international scene during the Olympic qualifying period, including an upset victory over the world’s No. 1 fencer, Gauthier Grumier of France, at a grand prix meet in Doha, Qatar, last December.
A two-time senior world team member, he has finished as high as sixth this season, at the Stockholm Satellite Tournament. The bronze medalist in individual epee and part of the silver-medal-winning team at the 2015 Pan American Games, he has established himself as one of the top fencers in the Western Hemisphere with podium finishes at the North American Cup the past two years and five other top-eight placements in 2015. The silver medalist at the 2013 USA Fencing National Championships, he rebounded from a disappointing seventh at the 2014 event to claim the national title last year.
Pryor will be Team USA’s sole men’s epee fencer in Rio. He is joined on the 2016 U.S. Olympic Fencing Team by epee fencers Kelley Hurley and Courtney Hurley, foil fencers Gerek Meinhardt, Alex Massialas, Miles Chamley-Watson, Lee Kiefer and Nzingha Prescod, and saber fencers Mariel Zagunis, Ibtihaj Muhammad, Dagmara Wozniak and Daryl Homer. Two more fencers are expected to be named to the team.
