MEINHARDT Gerek

Personal Information

Family Wife Lee Kiefer

Residence Lexington, KY, USA

Occupation Athlete

Languages English, French

Higher education Information Technology - Notre Dame University: United States

License number 27071990000

Club

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Sport Specific Information

When and where did you begin this sport? He was introduced to fencing at age nine and entered his first national competition at age 10. His first club was the M Team in San Francisco, CA, United States of America.

Why this sport? He got involved in the sport because he was taking piano lessons from fencing coach Greg Massialas' wife. When Massialas set up his own club, Meinhardt's parents signed him up. "My mum grew up in [Chinese Taipei], and she was in a musical boarding school over there. One of her classmates also moved to the Bay Area [in San Francisco, CA, United States of America], and they kept in touch. My mum's classmate eventually married an Olympic fencer who was looking to start up a fencing club. I was already taking piano lessons from my mum's classmate. So it seemed pretty natural for me to also take fencing lessons from her husband."

Club / Team Massialas Foundation [USA] / Bluegrass Fencer's Club [USA]:

Name of coach Greg Massialas [Massialas Foundation, national], USA

Handedness Right

General Interest

Hobbies Playing basketball, listening to music. (usafencing.org, 23 Jul 2019)

Hero / Idol His sister Katie. (wfpl.org, 30 Nov 2021)

Injuries He was troubled by a knee injury in 2019. (Instagram profile, 13 Jan 2022)

He underwent two operations on his right knee during his collegiate fencing career with the University of Notre Dame in Indiana, United States of America. He then required further surgery after winning bronze in men's individual foil at the 2010 World Championships. In 2011 he underwent a surgical repair on the meniscus in his knee, which forced him to take a five-month break to recover. (Instagram profile, 09 Nov 2021; und.com, 05 Jun 2014; fencing.net, 10 May 2012; usafencing.org, 13 Oct 2011)

Sporting philosophy / motto "The first thing is to love your sport. Never do it to please someone else. It has to be yours." (Twitter profile, 23 Apr 2011)

Awards and honours In 2021 he was inducted into the International Fencing Federation [FIE] Hall of Fame. (usafencing.org, 03 Dec 2021)

Milestones He became the first US male fencer to win a medal at the world championships when he claimed bronze in individual foil at the 2010 edition of the tournament in Paris, France. Along with Race Imboden, Alexander Massialas, and Miles Chamley-Watson, he was part of the first US men's foil team to win gold at the world championships by securing victory in 2019 in Budapest, Hungary. (SportsDeskOnline, 09 Mar 2021; alexandermassialas.com, 23 Jan 2021; usafencing.org, 23 Jul 2019)

At age 18 years and 17 days, he was the youngest male fencer from any nation to compete at the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing. He also became the youngest male fencer to have represented the United States of America at the Olympic Games in 2008 in Beijing. (SportsDeskOnline, 12 Jul 2018; sfgate.com, 14 Aug 2008)

Famous relatives His sister Katie has played basketball for Boston University in the United States of America. His wife Lee Kiefer has represented the United States of America in fencing and won gold in women's individual foil at the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo. (SportsDeskOnline, 11 Apr 2022; usatoday.com, 25 Jul 2021; fie.org, 15 Jan 2021; fencing.net, 14 Feb 2020; teamusa.org, 01 Jan 2019)

Other information FAMILY AFFAIR
He is married to Lee Kiefer, who also competes in fencing for the United States of America. The pair married in 2019. "We were friends for a long time. We were on a lot of world championship teams together growing up. We primarily train against each other, which is why it means so much to us when either of us does well. We're so proud of each other and what we've been able to accomplish thus far, just pushing each other every day to try and reach for more, to become better fencers and better people. For her to be able to push through all of that and win the Olympic gold [at the 2020 Games in Tokyo], that was my Olympic dream. It really was." (wfpl.org, 30 Nov 2021; usatoday.com, 29 Jul 2021; washingtonpost.com, 26 Jul 2021; fencing.net, 14 Feb 2020; sports.yahoo.com, 11 Jan 2020; teamusa.org, 15 Aug 2019)

FURTHER EDUCATION
Between 2013 and 2015 he studied for a master's degree in business administration at the University of Notre Dame in Indiana, United States of America. In 2020 he began studying medicine at the University of Kentucky in Lexington, KY, United States of America. "I did some shadowing and speaking with the physicians about what their lives were like, pros and cons and eventually decided, with their help, that I shouldn't worry about making a change too late in my life, even though I was going to be a non-traditional student and a bit older than my classmates." After competing at the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo, he put aside his studies in order to focus on his sporting career. He plans to return to medical school in 2025. (Instagram profile, 17 Feb 2022; LinkedIn profile, 14 Feb 2022; fie.org, 15 Jan 2021; teamusa.com, 29 Oct 2023)

INFLUENTIAL MOTHER
His mother was rigorous in ensuring he gave his best during his early days as a fencer. "My mum was pretty much a stereotypical tiger mum. While I got [piano] lessons from my mum's friend, my mum would be there during our lessons at home, and we would definitely butt heads, and there were tears at times. Once I started fencing, after a couple of years of doing both at the same time, my fencing coach convinced his wife [who was Meinhardt's piano teacher] that I had a lot of potential in fencing and it was time for me to really focus on that instead of piano. So I switched over to that. My mum would be there at practice, making sure my knees were bent, that I had good technique. At the time, sometimes I didn't appreciate it, but now [speaking in 2021] looking back on it, of course that's why I am the fencer that I am. I am known for my technique and fundamentals, and all that starts when you're little and the discipline that you have then. I feel like my mum was a tiger mum that pushed me a lot in fencing." (wfpl.org, 30 Nov 2021)