HOMER Daryl

Personal Information

Residence New York, NY, USA

Occupation Athlete

Languages English

Higher education Advertising - St. John's University: New York, NY, USA

License number 16071990000

Club

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Sport Specific Information

When and where did you begin this sport? He began fencing at age 11 at the Peter Westbrook Foundation in New York, NY, United States of America. He later began training under Yury Gelman, who coached him for free at the Manhattan Fencing Center.

Why this sport? He read about fencing in a children's dictionary when he was young and begged his mother to let him take up the sport. "I think she pushed it aside at the time, but a few years later we were watching television and a commercial that featured two black fencers came on. I pointed it out to my mother, and I think the visual of seeing these black males fencing was enough to make her think this was attainable. She looked up a fencing foundation, and it progressed from there."

Club / Team Peter Westbrook Foundation: New York, NY, USA

Handedness Right

General Interest

Most influential person in career US fencers Peter Westbrook and Keeth Smart. (teamusa.org, 23 Jun 2020, 01 Sep 2016)

Hero / Idol US fencer Peter Westbrook. (espn.co.uk, 11 Aug 2016; wsj.com, 10 Aug 2016)

Superstitions / Rituals / Beliefs Before a bout he sits in silence and practises visualisation. (gq.com, 13 Jul 2021)

Sporting philosophy / motto "Fencing is literally your life put into a 20-second period. 20 seconds of pressure. It takes so much from you. You have to make the right decisions, keep your emotions tight and stay confident." (pressroom.toyota.com, 18 Mar 2020)

Awards and honours While at St. John's University he was awarded All-American honours in four consecutive seasons from 2010 to 2013. He was inducted into the university's Athletics Hall of Fame in 2022. (redstormsports.com, 15 Aug 2022; teamusa.org, 01 Sep 2016)

Milestones He became the first US male sabre fencer to win a medal at the world championships, when he claimed silver at the 2015 edition in Moscow, Russian Federation. (SportsDeskOnline, 16 Mar 2016; theplayerstribune.com, 30 Sep 2015)

Famous relatives His younger sister D'Meca was a foil fencer in college, and competed for the Virgin Islands, US at the 2011 World Championships in Catania, Italy. (SportsDeskOnline, 09 Jul 2013; teamusa.org, 03 Jul 2011; gocolumbialions.com, 10 Aug 2012; fie.org, 09 Oct 2011)

Ambitions To compete at the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris. (Instagram profile, 14 Jun 2023)

Other information MEMORABLE MENTOR
He has been inspired by US fencer Peter Westbrook ever since seeing him on a television advertisement as a child, which led to him joining the Peter Westbrook Foundation in New York, NY, United States of America, at age 11. Westbrook became his mentor and years later, at the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, Homer became the first US fencer to win an Olympic medal in men's individual sabre since Westbrook, who had claimed bronze at the 1984 Games in Los Angeles. "Peter and I have a close personal relationship, but to also have our names etched in history next to each other is really humbling. I've probably read his book 'Harnessing Anger' hundreds of times throughout my life. [His achievement of] six Olympic teams and 13 national championships were always in the back of my mind. I may not beat those, but it's nice to know that there's something iconic and transcendental that bonds us together. I wouldn't have found an access point to fencing without Peter. So [without him], I probably wouldn't be here." (teamusa.org, 23 Jun 2020; espn.co.uk, 11 Aug 2016)

MOVE TO THE US
Born in the Virgin Islands, US, he moved to New York, NY, United States of America, at age five with his mother and his sister. (huffingtonpost.com, 15 Apr 2015; vogue.com, 09 Aug 2016)

OTHER ACTIVITIES
In 2019 he joined the University of Notre Dame's fencing coaching staff as a volunteer assistant, and he served as an Athlete Role Model at the 2018 Youth Olympic Games in Buenos Aires, Argentina. He has also visited fencing clubs and schools to discuss his experiences in the sport, while in 2017 he travelled to Senegal to teach fencing to prisoners and orphans. "I hope the youth in the programme are able to take away tangible skills from these experiences, and that continued exposure to the sport will lead to more opportunities. I've seen how 'play' and discipline can be connected seamlessly to help the youth in the real world." (und.com, 21 Oct 2019; cnn.com, 02 Mar 2017; shadeglobal.com, 02 Mar 2017; hackleyschool.org, 20 Jan 2017; fie.org, 09 Oct 2018)