Credit: International Fencing Federation (FIE), Augusto Bizzi / Eva Pavia Gomez / Luca Pagliaricci
Image: Sophie Liu (left) holding her gold medal and Champion du Monde certificate with Coach Dariusz Gilman (right).

Capital Fencing Academy is thrilled to celebrate SOPHIE LIU (North Potomac, MD)’s gold medal with the U.S. Junior Women’s Saber Team last month at the Junior World Championships in Wuxi, China. This win ends a gold-medal drought of over a decade. For the past three years, the team finished just off the medal podium.

Credit: International Fencing Federation (FIE), Augusto Bizzi / Eva Pavia Gomez / Luca Pagliaricci
From left to right: Alexandra Lee, Magda Skarbonkiewicz, Sophie Liu, Siobhan Sullivan after winning gold.

Liu, the youngest member of the U.S. Junior Women’s Saber Team, competed previously in the World Championships at the cadet level (under-16s), where her best finish was fifth, but this was her first Junior World Championships (under-20s). All her teammates for junior women’s saber are college students, while Liu is a student at Wootton High School.

In the individual event for Junior Women’s Saber, Liu placed 15 th . She beat last year’s cadet world champion, Dorottya Csonka, and two other fencers before losing to fellow American and Paris Olympian Magda Skarbonkiewicz, who went on to win bronze. Only two days later, Liu competed with Skarbonkiewicz as two of the four members of Team USA.

Liu participated in every USA team match, fencing athletes from Thailand, Germany, Italy, Uzbekistan, and France. The match against Italy was particularly hard-fought: the U.S. lost to them last year at the same event, 45-42. But this year, Team USA reversed the score line. With a 45-42 win, including three bouts fenced by Liu, they moved on to face the defending world champions, France.

In the gold medal match, Team USA defeated France in a decisive fashion, 45-24. The success in both the individual and team events has motivated Liu to seriously consider training for an Olympic berth in the future.

Liu will attend Yale University starting in August, where she will be a member of the Yale women’s fencing team.

Reporter’s Note: Capital Fencing Academy is located in North Bethesda, MD (head coach Dariusz Gilman). Classes range from beginner to elite, internationally competitive levels, ages seven—veteran. Sophie has been a CFA member since age 12.

More information:
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