(L-R) Epee fencers Jake Hoyle, Yeisser Ramirez and Curtis McDowald have all secured their spots on the U.S. Olympic Team.
Spots on the U.S. Olympic fencing team for this summer’s Olympic Games Tokyo 2020 are filling up fast.
Nine athletes have now qualified for the Games based on world cup results earned over the past two weekends. First in Budapest, Hungary, March 11-14, Daryl Homer and Eliza Stone qualified in saber. Then March 19-23, in Kazan, Russia, four athletes qualified in epee: Courtney Hurley, Kelley Hurley and Kat Holmes, plus replacement athlete Anna van Brummen. Also in Kazan, Jake Hoyle, Curtis McDowald and Yeisser Ramirez qualified in men’s epee. These athletes represent a mix of Olympians and relative newcomers.
Homer and Stone will join Eli Dershwitz and Mariel Zagunis on the U.S. saber team, with Dershwitz and Zagunis having qualified in early 2020 prior to the COVID-19 pandemic. Homer, the reigning Olympic silver medalist, will be on his third Olympic team. Stone will be competing in her first Olympic Games and was a bronze medalist at the 2018 world championships.