2025 Junior & Cadet Worlds Recap, Day 3 (Junior Saber Team): Team USA Strikes Double Gold, Men Three-Peat While Women End Decade-Long Drought

WUXI, China — Repeating as world champions is tough enough, but winning three times in a row? That’s the stuff of legends.

Team USA achieved that historic three-peat in the Junior Men’s Saber team event on Wednesday at the 2025 Junior & Cadet Fencing World Championships in Wuxi, China. By earning gold for the third consecutive year, the U.S. becomes the first nation ever to three-peat in this event.

Colin Heathcock OLY (Harvard University, Christian Bauer Academy, Manhattan Fencing Center), Will Morrill (Columbia University, Scarsdale Fencing Center, Fencers Club Inc.), and Cody Walter Ji (Nellya Fencers) have been part of all three championship squads, while 2025 Cadet World Champion Emilio Gonzalez (Scarsdale Fencing Center, Fencers Club Inc.) joined the team this year.

“I mean, this is a crew that has so much chemistry,” Ji says. “We trust each other a lot. Will is always speaking for us in the circle, always motivating us. Colin’s our team leader. Emilio is the new guy who’s just so freakin’ good at fencing. We have such a great team dynamic.”

The Junior Men’s Saber team event was first contested in 1998, and Team USA claimed its inaugural gold in 2001. Over the next two decades (2002–2022), the squad collected only bronze or silver medals. That changed in 2023, kicking off what has now become a three-year golden streak.

This is just the second Junior & Cadet Worlds three-peat in Team USA history. The first came from 2004 to 2006, when the U.S. Women’s Saber Team won three straight titles. Among the athletes on that 2006 squad: current Women’s Saber National Coach Dagmara Wozniak OLY.

With Wozniak guiding them, the Team USA Junior Women’s Saber team also won gold on Wednesday, ending a drought of more than a decade. (Their last gold came in 2013.)

This year’s squad featured Magda Skarbonkiewicz OLY (University of Notre Dame, Oregon Fencing Alliance), Alexandra Lee (Princeton University, Premier Fencing Academy), Siobhan Sullivan (University of Notre Dame, Oregon Fencing Alliance), and Sophie Liu (Capital Fencing Academy).

Unlike the men, who returned three of their four team members for this year’s competition, the women had only one returning fencer from 2024’s team event: Skarbonkiewicz. She remembers past disappointments when Team USA failed to medal three times in a row.

“It was like, fifth and fifth and fifth. We were beat up, run over,” Skarbonkiewicz says. “But Sophie came in two or three days before and she’s like, ‘I’m not leaving here without a gold.’ It feels amazing because we’ve been working at this for so long. I’m really proud of all of us and proud of how the girls performed today. It was just amazing.”

Hearing “The Star-Spangled Banner” twice in one night felt incredible for Team USA fans, too. One country winning both saber team gold medals is rare — it last happened in 2007 (Ukraine), and only once before that, in 2001 (United States).

Team USA: Gold and 2025 World Champions

Magda Skarbonkiewicz OLY (University of Notre Dame, Oregon Fencing Alliance)

Alexandra Lee (Princeton University, Premier Fencing Academy)

Siobhan Sullivan (University of Notre Dame, Oregon Fencing Alliance)

Sophie Liu (Capital Fencing Academy)

Team USA: Gold and 2025 World Champions

Colin Heathcock OLY (Harvard University, Christian Bauer Academy, Manhattan Fencing Center)

Will Morrill (Columbia University, Scarsdale Fencing Center, Fencers Club Inc.)

Cody Walter Ji (Nellya Fencers)

Emilio Gonzalez (Scarsdale Fencing Center, Fencers Club Inc.)