Gerek Lin Meinhardt ( ; born July 27, 1990) is an American right-handed

foil Foil may refer to: Materials * Foil (metal), a quite thin sheet of metal, usually manufactured with a rolling mill machine * Metal leaf, a very thin sheet of decorative metal * Aluminium foil, a type of wrapping for food * Tin foil, metal foil ma ...

fencer. Meinhardt is a two-time individual

NCAA The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates College athletics in the United States, student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, and Simon Fraser University, 1 in Canada. ...

champion, 12-time team Pan American champion, three-time individual Pan American champion and 2019 team world champion. A five-time Olympian, Meinhardt is a two-time team Olympic bronze medalist. Meinhardt competed in the

2008 Beijing Olympic Games 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 ...

, the 2012 London Olympic Games, the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympic Games, the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games, and the 2024 Paris Olympic Games.

Early and personal life

Meinhardt is one of two children born to Kurt and Jane Meinhardt. His mother is Taiwanese. Meinhardt attended

Lick-Wilmerding High School Lick-Wilmerding High School is a private college-preparatory high school located in San Francisco, California, United States. History Lick-Wilmerding High School was founded on September 21, 1874, as the California School of Mechanical Arts, a ...

in San Francisco for two years and completed high school in a home schooling program. He attended the

University of Notre Dame The University of Notre Dame du Lac (known simply as Notre Dame; ; ND) is a Private university, private Catholic research university in Notre Dame, Indiana, United States. Founded in 1842 by members of the Congregation of Holy Cross, a Cathol ...

on a full fencing scholarship. He majored in business and finance, and was a member of the school's fencing team from 2009 to 2014. Gerek was employed by Deloitte Advisory before enrolling at the

University of Kentucky The University of Kentucky (UK, UKY, or U of K) is a Public University, public Land-grant University, land-grant research university in Lexington, Kentucky, United States. Founded in 1865 by John Bryan Bowman as the Agricultural and Mechanical ...

College of Medicine in 2020. He married fellow American fencer Lee Kiefer in September 2019.

Fencing career

Introduced to the sport at age 9 through a program run by Olympic fencer Greg Massialas, Meinhardt began participating in national fencing competitions a year later. At age 16 he became the youngest men's national foil champion when he won the tournament at the 2007 U.S. Fencing National Championships. By winning at the 2014 NCAA Fencing National Championships, he joined female fencer Lee Kiefer and swimmer Emma Reaney as part of the 2nd

Notre Dame Fighting Irish The Notre Dame Fighting Irish are the athletic teams that represent the University of Notre Dame. The Fighting Irish participate in 26 National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I intercollegiate sports and in the NCAA's Division ...

trio to be named individual national champion in a single year and the 4th to be either individual national champion or national athlete of the year in a single year. Ranked 16th in the world at the time, he participated in the

2008 Summer Olympics 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 fro ...

Beijing Beijing, Chinese postal romanization, previously romanized as Peking, is the capital city of China. With more than 22 million residents, it is the world's List of national capitals by population, most populous national capital city as well as ...

as a member of the United States fencing team. He was the youngest fencer in Beijing and the youngest U.S. Olympic fencer of all time. At the 2010 World Fencing Championships in Paris, he won a bronze medal in the men's foil event, tying with Yuki Ota of Japan. After his gold medal win at the 2012 U.S National Championships, he was selected as an alternate fencer for the

2012 London Olympics The 2012 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XXX Olympiad and also known as London 2012, were an international multi-sport event held from 27 July to 12 August 2012 in London, England, United Kingdom. The first event, the ...

U.S men's foil team. For the 2016 Rio Olympics he was selected as a member of the United States fencing team and won the bronze medal in the team foil competition. He again qualified for the United States fencing team at the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo where he won his second consecutive bronze medal. Meinhardt is a member of the FIE Hall of Fame.

Medal record

Olympic Games

World Championship

Grand Prix

World Cup

Pan American Championship

References

External links

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Gerek Meinhardt
at USA Fencing * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Meinhardt, Gerek 1990 births Living people American male foil fencers Fencers from San Francisco Fencers at the 2008 Summer Olympics Fencers at the 2012 Summer Olympics Fencers at the 2016 Summer Olympics Notre Dame Fighting Irish fencers American sportspeople of Taiwanese descent Olympic bronze medalists for the United States in fencing Medalists at the 2016 Summer Olympics World Fencing Championships medalists Fencers at the 2011 Pan American Games Fencers at the 2019 Pan American Games Fencers at the 2023 Pan American Games Medalists at the 2011 Pan American Games Medalists at the 2019 Pan American Games Medalists at the 2023 Pan American Games Pan American Games gold medalists for the United States in fencing Pan American Games silver medalists for the United States in fencing Fencers at the 2020 Summer Olympics Medalists at the 2020 Summer Olympics University of Kentucky College of Medicine alumni Lick-Wilmerding High School alumni Fencers at the 2024 Summer Olympics 21st-century American sportsmen