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GALLAGHER PELLETIER Samuel

epee
Rank186
Pts7.125
Age36
HandR

Personal Information

Family Partner Haruka Imai

Residence Toronto, ON, CAN

Occupation Advisor

Languages English, French

Higher education Marketing - George Brown College: Toronto, ON, CAN

License number 21071987002

Club

GoldSilverBronzeTotal
Zone Championships--11
Asunción (PARAGUAY), 2022-06-07
--11
San-Jose (COSTA RICA), 2019-10-20

Sport Specific Information

When and where did you begin this sport? He took up fencing in high school.

Why this sport? "I have a bit of an addictive personality, when I get into something I just can't stop. As soon as I started fencing, my dad was like, 'Great, here's some money, go'. I was playing Counter-Strike [a video game] probably six hours a day, it was disgusting. So I would not be a healthy human being right now if I didn't start fencing. I lost a lot, I was the worst beginner. But I felt to some extent you get to outsmart people, and on that I was kind of hooked."

Club / Team Dynamo Fencing Club: Vancouver, BC, CAN

Name of coach Igor Gantsevich [club], CAN

Training Regime He takes part in three-hour bout sessions three days a week, and also has two other workouts each week.

Handedness Right

General Interest

Hero / Idol French epee fencer Fabrice Jeannet. (Facebook profile, 24 Jan 2022)

Ambitions To compete at the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris. (YouTube channel, 04 May 2022)

Other information EARLY DAYS
He left Quebec, QC, Canada, in his early 20s and moved to Toronto to train with Canada's elite fencers. He then juggled the sport with working night shifts at a restaurant. "After I fenced for three, four, or five [years] I moved from Quebec to Toronto because back then the best in Canada were there, so I needed to go. I was so into it, I would work night shifts at a restaurant from 23:00 to 07:00. I would go to bed at 08:00, get up at 17:00, go to practice at 18:00 until 22:00. And then I would leave practice, shower, go to work, do my overnight and then rinse, wash, repeat. I was very tired. About one year in I told my boss, 'You need to take me off night shifts because I'm going to pass out'. It was really hard because on the weekends all of a sudden I had to just reset my mental clock for competition. I already have a hard time with the mental issues on the strip. I was a young kid and I didn't know I could ask for a better job or just go look for one. Sometimes you feel trapped, which is unfortunate." (YouTube channel, 04 May 2022)

COACHING ABROAD
He worked as a coach and international relations manager at the Vango fencing club in the People's Republic of China from 2010 to 2012 and competed on the Chinese competition circuit. "I got a phone call from a Chinese businessman, and they were like, 'Hi Sam, we saw you got some good results, do you want to come to China?' They flew me out for two months, that was the longest visa I could get, to show me it was legit. Originally they promised they would pay for all World Cups and stuff, I was a little naive. Even if they didn't, honestly, it's still a worthy experience. In Nanjing, in 2011, I won a Chinese national tournament. I technically took someone's spot on the team, so after that they made a rule that foreigners couldn't compete in those national ones anymore. The Chinese fencers are just so good at actions, you can't outfence them, you have to outsmart them." (YouTube channel, 04 May 2022; LinkedIn profile, 01 Feb 2022)

BREAK AND RETURN
In 2012 he returned to Canada after spending two years working as a coach in the People's Republic of China. He continued to work as a coach but stopped competing due to financial constraints. "I got a little depressed because I didn't know what I was doing with my life. I left China and didn't know if I wanted to go back because I still wanted to fence. I kind of shut down and didn't really do anything for about a year. I did stop [competing] for two or three years, and I got fat." After getting a job at a bank and taking on other coaching work he began his return to competition. "I started working my way to a point where I could afford to fence. The University of Toronto contacted me and they gave me access to their facilities. I started again and I wasn't very good. I could see what I wanted to do and my body couldn't do it. I was doing my things in Toronto, doing what I could. I did a Canadian tournament and got second place and beat some pretty good people, so I thought, 'I can beat the people at the top right now, so keep going'." (GP Fencing YouTube channel, 04 May 2022; LinkedIn profile, 01 Feb 2022)

OTHER ACTIVITIES
He runs a YouTube channel where he reviews bouts and gives fencing tutorials. "It's my little pet project. In one sense, when I learn something I put in the video, sometimes you get epiphany. So every time I learn something new I just make a video on it. I can see my own progression through tactics as I watch my videos." He has also served as a board member at Midnight Sun Fencing Club in Whitehorse, YT, Canada. (Midnight Sun Fencing Club Facebook page, 08 Jun 2022; YouTube channel, 04 May 2022)

OCCUPATION
He works as an investment funds advisor for the Royal Bank of

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