St. John's University Athletics
Gelman Inducted Into U.S. Fencing Hall Of Fame
7/22/2010 12:00:00 AM | Fencing
July 22, 2010
QUEENS, N.Y. - Longtime St. John's Fencing coach Yury Gelman was inducted into the United States Fencing Hall of Fame on July 10 at the 2010 Summer National Championships in Atlanta.
Gelman recently completed his 15th season as head coach of the Red Storm fencing teams. During his time in Queens, Gelman has built a legacy as one of the top fencing coaches in the world, with success in both the United States and abroad. His collegiate teams consistently finish among the nation's elite and many of his players have collected world championship titles and gold medals.
Under Gelman's leadership, St. John's has not finished lower than sixth place in the nation. STJ has one national championship during his time (2001) and five second-place finishes at the NCAA Championships (1995, 2000, 2002, 2007, 2010).
In 2010, Gelman's Red Storm enjoyed individual national championships by Daryl Homer and Marat Israelian and 10 fencers earned All-America honors. In total, St. John's has won 14 individual NCAA titles and Gelman has coached STJ fencers to All-America status more than 100 times. Off the strip, five fencers - Alex Roytblat, Arlene Stevens, Emese Takacs, Luther Clement and Katia Larchanka - have earned Academic All-America honors, while Erzsebet Garay and Homer, earned ESPN The Magazine's Academic All-District honors.
Gelman has also represented the United States as a coach for the U.S. Fencing Team during the Olympic Games in Beijing, Athens, and Sydney. Gelman's coaching experience began at the Kiev Physical Education College, where he was coach from 1977-91. Gelman also served as coach of the Ukranian Fencing Team from 1987-91.
Gelman is a 1977 graduate of Kiev Physical Education College, where he earned a degree in physical education and coaching of fencing. Gelman also earned his master's degree in physical education in 1981 from Kiev.
In September 2007, Gelman opened the Manhattan Fencing Center. The club includes elite fencers from the greater New York Area and serves as an Olympic training facility as well.
Founded in 1963, the United States Fencing Hall of Fame has 131 members including the Class of 2010. Other inductees to the Hall of Fame this year include: Joseph Elliot, Aldo Nadi, Ella (Jaguarina) Hattan, Father Lawrence Calhoun, Robert Blum and Hugh Vincent Alessandroni.
Players Mentioned
