model
A model is an informative representation of an object, person, or system. The term originally denoted the plans of a building in late 16th-century English, and derived via French and Italian ultimately from Latin , .
Models can be divided in ...
. She competed in the
2024 Summer Olympics
The 2024 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXXIII Olympiad () and branded as Paris 2024, were an international multi-sport event held in France from 26 July to 11 August 2024, with several events started from 24 July. P ...
.
A
Brooklyn
Brooklyn is a Boroughs of New York City, borough of New York City located at the westernmost end of Long Island in the New York (state), State of New York. Formerly an independent city, the borough is coextensive with Kings County, one of twelv ...
native daughter of Polish immigrants, Anne Cebula began fencing at the age of fifteen, at
Brooklyn Technical High School
Brooklyn Technical High School, commonly called Brooklyn Tech and administratively designated High School 430, is a public specialized high school in New York City that specializes in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. It is on ...
. She saw the sport for the first time on television when she was 10 years old, after watching USA's
Keeth Smart
Keeth Thomas Smart ''The New York Times'', 27 May 2007. (born July 29, 1978) is an American
Beijing 2008
The 2008 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXIX Olympiad () and officially branded as Beijing 2008 (), were an international multisport event held from 8 to 24 August 2008, in Beijing, China. A total of 10,942 athletes fr ...
Olympics. Her parents did not allow her to pursue it because of the costs.
One of the reasons she chose
Brooklyn Tech
Brooklyn Technical High School, commonly called Brooklyn Tech and administratively designated High School 430, is a public specialized high school in New York City that specializes in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. It is on ...
was because of their free fencing club.
After showing potential, her high school coach, Bert Yaged, recommended that she try a summer camp at any club in the city.
She did a week-long day camp at Fencers Club in 2013, where she met coach Kornel Udvarhelyi. She worked with him until he moved to Boston in 2021.
After transferring from
Fordham University
Fordham University is a Private university, private Society of Jesus, Jesuit research university in New York City, United States. Established in 1841, it is named after the Fordham, Bronx, Fordham neighborhood of the Bronx in which its origina ...
to
Barnard College
Barnard College is a Private college, private Women's colleges in the United States, women's Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college affiliated with Columbia University in New York City. It was founded in 1889 by a grou ...
during the second semester of her sophomore year, she walked onto
Columbia University
Columbia University in the City of New York, commonly referred to as Columbia University, is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Churc ...
's fencing team. She qualified for the US Junior Team and attended Junior World Championships 2018 in Verona, Italy that semester.
Her junior year, she won NCAA Championships in Individual Women's Epee and in Overall Team. This made her the first Barnard College student in school history to win an individual national title in any sport.
The team won the Women's Ivy League Fencing Championships in 2018, 2019, and 2020. During her senior year, she qualified again for NCAA Championships, but it was cancelled due to the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic. She graduated in May 2020, majoring in Neuroscience & Behavior. Anne began working with coach Sergey Danilov in 2021 in preparation for the Olympic Games.
She finished as the highest ranked American in women's epee on May 1, 2024, qualifying for both the individual and team events.
In the individual event, she won her first match 15-14 against
(three time Olympic medalist; eventual 2024 Olympic gold medalist in team). She lost her next match 13-15 against Auriane Mallo-Breton Olympic silver medalist in both individual and team). This resulted in her 13th place finish.
In the team event, she went +2 overall against
Poland
Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...
, but the overall team score ended at a loss, 29-31.The team fenced in the back bracket for placement and ended in 7th place.
While training, Anne worked as a professional model through
Elite Model Management
Elite Model Management (MM) is a modeling agency that originated in Paris in 1972.
In 2004, the agencies in New York City, Miami, Los Angeles, and Toronto separated and formed Elite Model Management North America. Elite MM is a subsidiary of El ...
Marc Jacobs
Marc Jacobs (born April 9, 1963) is an American fashion designer. He is the head designer for his own fashion label, Marc Jacobs, and formerly Marc by Marc Jacobs, a diffusion line, which was produced for approximately 15 years, before it was d ...