As Olympic qualification continues, Hadley Husisian, Samuel Imrek and Yeisser Ramirez each earn their first career podium finishes at the senior level.
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. — In a statement performance not just for the individual fencers but for the entire United States Epee program, three members of Team USA took home medals on Wednesday at the Doha Grand Prix in Qatar.
Team USA’s Hadley Husisian (Fencers Club, Princeton University, Elite Fencing Academy & DC Fencers Club), Yeisser Ramirez OLY (Peter Westbrook Foundation) and Samuel Imrek (Alliance Fencing Academy) each earned bronze medals.
It was a breakout tournament for all three fencers as each not only won their first senior medal but also had their first top 8 at the sport’s highest level.
None of the American fencers had an easy path to the podium.
Husisian, who entered the tournament ranked No. 122, defeated the world No. 5 (Song of Korea) and world No. 12 (Vitalis of Italy). Imrek, who entered the tournament ranked No. 227, toppled the world No. 6 (Bardenet of France), while Ramirez, who arrived in Doha ranked No. 259, upset the world No. 5 (Siklosi of Hungary).
Two of the semifinal matches involving Team USA fencers went into overtime/priority, meaning the score was tied at the end of the three three-minute rounds. Overtime in fencing last one minutes, with the fencer who scores in that minute declared the winner. (If neither fencer scores, the winner is the fencer who had "priority," which is randomly assigned before the overtime period.)
In the semifinals against world No. 1 Vivian Man Wai Kong of Hong Kong, China, Husisian battled back from deficits of 11-7 and 14-12 to send the bout to overtime, where she ultimately fell short.
Moments later in the men’s semi, Ramirez was down 13-7 to the 2019 European Champion, Yuval Freilich of Israel, before battling back to send the bout to overtime. Freilich went on to win it all.
While there was no team event in Doha, these individual results will have major implications on seeding for Team USA — both for tournament and team selection at future World Cup and Grand Prix tournaments and for potential selection to the Olympic roster.
But there’s still more fencing ahead. The Road to Paris continues in February and March as both Epee squads have three international tournaments remaining in the Olympic qualification window.
Next Up for Women’s Epee
- Barcelona World Cup (individual and team events): Feb. 9–11
- Budapest Grand Prix (individual events only): March 8–10
- Nanjing World Cup (individual and team events): March 22–24
Next Up for Men’s Epee
- Heidenheim World Cup (individual and team events): Feb. 22–24
- Budapest Grand Prix (individual events only): March 8–10
- Tbilisi World Cup (individual and team events): March 22–24
Full Team USA Results
Women’s Epee
Bronze - Hadley Husisian
24th - Isis Washington
31st - Miriam Grady
47th - Kat Holmes OLY
53rd - Anne Cebula
61st - Kasia Nixon
74th - Kai Liu
76th - Natalia Toby
103rd - Margherita Guzzi Vincenti
108th - Sarah Gu
106th - Tanishka Padhye
132nd - Amanda Pirkowski
Men’s Epee
Bronze - Yeisser Ramirez OLY
Bronze - Samuel Imrek
19th - Jonas Hansen
28th - Justin Haddad
66th - Cooper Schumacher
82nd - Philip Kang
84th - Ariel Simmons
117th - Tristan Szapary
121st - Noah Silvers
140th - Justin Yoo
154th - Omari Smoak
184th - Teddy Lombardo
