GORDON Shaul

Personal Information

Family Partner Yana Botvinnik

Residence Richmond, BC, CAN

Occupation Athlete

Languages English, French, Hebrew, Italian

Higher education Language Studies - French - University of Pennsylvania: Philadelphia, PA, USA

License number 11071994001

Club Dynamo Fencing Club

Upcoming Events

Sport Specific Information

When and where did you begin this sport? He began fencing at age seven in Turin, Italy.

Why this sport? He tried judo, basketball and swimming before he began fencing. He decided to take up the sport after watching Zorro cartoons. "I was seven, and Italy is historically a powerhouse in fencing. I was reading Zorro, watching the three musketeers, and I wanted to fence. You get to hit people! That's why I started to like it."

Club / Team US Joue-Les-Tours Escrime: France

Name of coach Arthur Zatko [national], FRA

Handedness Right

General Interest

Nicknames Adachi, Ice Daddy [because he would often use the ice baths after training while he was studying at university]. (Richmond News YouTube channel, 09 Jul 2021; fencing.net, 23 Mar 2016; olympic.ca, 11 Jun 2015)

Hobbies Reading, watching NBA basketball. (olympic.ca, 10 Aug 2019)

Sporting philosophy / motto "Good, better, best. Never let them rest. Until your good is better, and your better best." (olympic.ca, 11 Jun 2015)

Famous relatives His younger sister Tamar has competed in fencing at international level, representing Israel as a junior and Canada as a senior. She represented Canada at the world championships in 2022 and 2023. His younger brother Mati is a member of the Israeli national rugby union team. His partner Yana Botvinnik has represented Israel in fencing, including at the world championships in 2015, 2018, 2019 and 2023. (Yana Botvinnik Instagram profile, 12 Aug 2022; SportsDeskOnline, 10 May 2024; Canadian Fencing Federation Facebook page, 07 Mar 2022; barnard.edu, 07 Jan 2022; Mati Gordon LinkedIn profile, 09 May 2021; jewishindependent.ca, 17 Mar 2021)

Other information FURTHER EDUCATION
After beginning his French studies degree at Penn State University in State College, PA, United States of America, he transferred to the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia after his freshman year and graduated from there in 2016. He then studied law at McGill University in Montreal, QC, Canada, where he completed a master's degree in air and space law in 2021. He has also spent semesters studying at Pantheon-Sorbonne University in Paris, France, and at The Hebrew University of Jerusalem in Israel. (LinkedIn profile, 05 Nov 2023; richmond-news.com, 31 Aug 2017)

FROM ISRAEL TO CANADA
Born in Tel Aviv, Israel, at age four he moved with his family to Turin, Italy. At age 10 he and his family relocated to Richmond, BC, Canada. He holds a Canadian passport and an Israeli passport. (jewishindependent.ca, 17 Mar 2021)