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Olympic Qualifying Fencing Grand Prix Comes to Harvard, Dec. 12-13

With the Rio Olympic Games less than a year away, more than 300 saber fencers will travel from at least 30 nations to compete in the Absolute Fencing Gear® FIE Grand Prix Boston this weekend.

The two-day tournament will be held at Harvard University’s Gordon Indoor Track, 65 North Harvard St. Competition on Saturday, Dec. 12 will include the pools and preliminary rounds while the table of 64 and final medal rounds will be held on Sunday, Dec. 13.

Tickets are available here with prices beginning at $8. Admission is free for children ages five and under.

The Grand Prix is part of a nine-city series held by the Federation Internationale d’Escrime and will feature the best sabre fencers in the world as the only Grand Prix to be held in the United States and the only sabre Grand Prix to be held in either North or South America.

Nearly all of the world’s 2016 Olympic hopefuls will be in attendance with all of the individual World and Olympic Champions since London expected to compete in Boston, including:

  • Jiyeon Kim (KOR), 2012 Olympic Champion and 2013 Senior World bronze medalist
  • Aron Szilagyi (HUN), 2012 Olympic Champion and 2013 Senior World bronze medalist
  • Sofya Velikaya (RUS), 2015 and 2011 Senior World Champion and 2012 Olympic silver medalist
  • Alexey Yakimenko (RUS), 2015 Senior World Champion and two-time individual Senior World bronze medalist
  • Olga Kharlan (UKR), 2013 and 2014 Senior World Champion and 2012 Olympic bronze medalist
  • Nikolay Kovalev (RUS), 2014 Senior World Champion and 2012 Olympic bronze medalist
  • Veniamin Reshetnikov (RUS), 2013 Senior World Champion and 2010 Senior World bronze medalist

Team USA will include at least 20 men and 20 women with a strong lineup that is highlighted by six athletes who have won medals on either the Olympic or Senior World Championship stage:

  • Mariel Zagunis (Beaverton, Ore.), two-time Olympic Champion and five-time Senior World Champion
  • Daryl Homer (Bronx, N.Y.), 2015 Senior World individual silver medalist and 2012 Olympian
  • Dagmara Wozniak (Avenel, N.J.), 2014 Senior World Team Champion and 2012 Olympian
  • Ibtihaj Muhammad (Maplewood, N.J.), 2014 Senior World Team Champion
  • Eliza Stone (Chicago, Ill.), 2014 Senior World Team Champion
  • Daria Schneider (New York City, N.Y.), two-time Senior World bronze medalist

Click here to view a complete entrants list.

As Harvard University is one of the top NCAA fencing programs in the nation, at least three Harvard fencers will be chasing their Olympic dreams at the Grand Prix. > More

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