St. John's University Athletics
Five Red Storm Fencers Qualify for Tokyo Olympics
6/22/2021 2:38:00 PM | Fencing
Four former, and one current, St. John’s fencers will compete at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics
QUEENS, N.Y. (June 22, 2021) – When the Summer Olympics begin in Tokyo this July, the Red Storm will have four former and one current St. John's student-athlete competing on the world's brightest stage.
The Red Storm fencers will be representing three different countries. Former Johnnies Daryl Homer, Dagmara Wozniak and Curtis McDowald will all be representing the United States, while Eli Schenkel and Fares Ferjani will compete for their home countries of Canada and Tunisia, respectively.
St. John's Head Coach Yury Gelman will be part of the United States fencing coaching staff in Tokyo, marking his sixth-straight Olympic Games. At the 2016 Rio Olympics, he helped guide Homer to the silver medal in the men's individual saber competition. Gelman also coached Wozniak to a bronze in the women's team saber. He also led both saber fencers at the 2012 London Games where Homer finished sixth and Wozniak ranked eighth in their individual competitions. At the 2008 Beijing Games, Gelman led the men's saber team to its first silver medal since 1984. That saber squad was led by St. John's alumnus Keeth Smart who helped pushed the Americans past Hungary and Russia to advance to the gold medal match.
Homer will be making his third appearance in the Olympic Games for the United States this summer. In 2016, Homer became the first Red Storm alum to claim an Olympic medal since Smart captured silver in the team saber competition at the 2008 Beijing Summer Olympics. Homer is just the fourth U.S. man to earn an Olympic medal in individual saber and the first since 1984. During his time at St. John's, Homer earned multiple First Team All-American honors and won two national men's saber championships in back-to-back seasons. In the 2009-10 season Homer posted a 93-9 record in route his first NCAA Championship. His 93 wins on the stripe are a high-water mark for the program.
Wozniak, who will be making her fourth consecutive Olympic appearance for the United States women's saber team, went 15-5 and won all three of her bouts against Italy in Rio. While she represented the Red Storm on the piste, Wozniak earned All-American honor three times and twice won the bronze medal in women's saber at the NCAA Championships.
McDowald, a former Red Storm epeeist, will be making his Olympic debut this summer. The Jamaica, N.Y., native, who earned eighth place in the 2018 Senior World Championships for the men's individual epee competition, is currently ranked no. 2 in the United States and no. 27 in the world. During his tenure with the Johnnies, McDowald finished in sixth and 10th place in the two NCAA Championships he competed, twice earning All-America honors.
Another Olympic debutant, Schenkel will be representing Canada in both team and individual foil. As a freshman at St. John's he posted 60 wins, which were the highest victory total by any freshman on the men's team. The foil fencer earned as high as ninth place at the 2012 NCAA Championships and was named a Third Team All-American.
Ferjani made his Olympic debut in 2016 at the age of 18, finishing 25th in the men's saber individual competition. The Tunis, Tunisia, native qualified for the upcoming Olympics in March after he took 10th place at the Men's Sabre World Cup. This season for the Red Storm, the redshirt junior went 13-2 on the stripe and closed out the campaign with six wins against Sacred Heart University. In the 2019 men's saber NCAA Championship, Fejani finished in third place to earn First Team All-America accolades. That same year, he won the gold medal in the saber competition at the Senior African Fencing Championship.
Fencing at the Tokyo Olympics will begin on July 24 with the men's individual saber and women's individual epee competitions. The final fencing event, the men's team foil, will be held on Aug. 1.
The Red Storm fencers will be representing three different countries. Former Johnnies Daryl Homer, Dagmara Wozniak and Curtis McDowald will all be representing the United States, while Eli Schenkel and Fares Ferjani will compete for their home countries of Canada and Tunisia, respectively.
St. John's Head Coach Yury Gelman will be part of the United States fencing coaching staff in Tokyo, marking his sixth-straight Olympic Games. At the 2016 Rio Olympics, he helped guide Homer to the silver medal in the men's individual saber competition. Gelman also coached Wozniak to a bronze in the women's team saber. He also led both saber fencers at the 2012 London Games where Homer finished sixth and Wozniak ranked eighth in their individual competitions. At the 2008 Beijing Games, Gelman led the men's saber team to its first silver medal since 1984. That saber squad was led by St. John's alumnus Keeth Smart who helped pushed the Americans past Hungary and Russia to advance to the gold medal match.
Homer will be making his third appearance in the Olympic Games for the United States this summer. In 2016, Homer became the first Red Storm alum to claim an Olympic medal since Smart captured silver in the team saber competition at the 2008 Beijing Summer Olympics. Homer is just the fourth U.S. man to earn an Olympic medal in individual saber and the first since 1984. During his time at St. John's, Homer earned multiple First Team All-American honors and won two national men's saber championships in back-to-back seasons. In the 2009-10 season Homer posted a 93-9 record in route his first NCAA Championship. His 93 wins on the stripe are a high-water mark for the program.
Wozniak, who will be making her fourth consecutive Olympic appearance for the United States women's saber team, went 15-5 and won all three of her bouts against Italy in Rio. While she represented the Red Storm on the piste, Wozniak earned All-American honor three times and twice won the bronze medal in women's saber at the NCAA Championships.
McDowald, a former Red Storm epeeist, will be making his Olympic debut this summer. The Jamaica, N.Y., native, who earned eighth place in the 2018 Senior World Championships for the men's individual epee competition, is currently ranked no. 2 in the United States and no. 27 in the world. During his tenure with the Johnnies, McDowald finished in sixth and 10th place in the two NCAA Championships he competed, twice earning All-America honors.
Another Olympic debutant, Schenkel will be representing Canada in both team and individual foil. As a freshman at St. John's he posted 60 wins, which were the highest victory total by any freshman on the men's team. The foil fencer earned as high as ninth place at the 2012 NCAA Championships and was named a Third Team All-American.
Ferjani made his Olympic debut in 2016 at the age of 18, finishing 25th in the men's saber individual competition. The Tunis, Tunisia, native qualified for the upcoming Olympics in March after he took 10th place at the Men's Sabre World Cup. This season for the Red Storm, the redshirt junior went 13-2 on the stripe and closed out the campaign with six wins against Sacred Heart University. In the 2019 men's saber NCAA Championship, Fejani finished in third place to earn First Team All-America accolades. That same year, he won the gold medal in the saber competition at the Senior African Fencing Championship.
Fencing at the Tokyo Olympics will begin on July 24 with the men's individual saber and women's individual epee competitions. The final fencing event, the men's team foil, will be held on Aug. 1.
Players Mentioned
Saber
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