Miles Chamley-Watson (born December 3, 1989) is a British-American right-handed

foil fencer A foil is one of the three weapons used in the sport of fencing. It is a flexible sword of total length or under, rectangular in cross section, weighing under , with a blunt tip. As with the épée, points are only scored by making contact with ...

. He is a 13-time team Pan American champion, 2019 team world champion, 2013 individual world champion, three-time Olympian, and 2016 team

Olympic bronze medal Olympic or Olympics may refer to Sports Competitions * Olympic Games, international multi-sport event held since 1896 ** Summer Olympic Games ** Winter Olympic Games * Ancient Olympic Games, ancient multi-sport event held in Olympia, Greece bet ...

ist.

Childhood

Chamley-Watson was born in London. He is of Jamaican, Irish, British, and Malawian descent. He spent the first eight years of his life as a resident of the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

until he and his family moved to

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

. He began fencing at the Knox School in Saint James, New York. After spending four years in New York, Chamley-Watson and his family settled in

Philadelphia Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

College career

Chamley-Watson earned a degree in

sports management Sport management is the field of business dealing with sports and recreation. Sports management involves any combination of skills that correspond with planning, organizing, directing, controlling, budgeting, leading, or evaluating of any organiza ...

from

Pennsylvania State University The Pennsylvania State University (Penn State or PSU) is a Public university, public Commonwealth System of Higher Education, state-related Land-grant university, land-grant research university with campuses and facilities throughout Pennsyl ...

in 2012.

Freshman year (2008–2009)

Chamley-Watson maintained a 19–4 record during his first year as an

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. ...

fencer. He was defeated in the semifinals 15–14 by Nicholas Chinman. The Penn State fencing team were the 2008–2009 National Team Champions.

Sophomore year (2009–2010)

Chamley-Watson was defeated in the semifinals by

Gerek Meinhardt Gerek Lin Meinhardt ( ; born July 27, 1990) is an American right-handed foil fencer. Meinhardt is a two-time individual NCAA champion, 12-time team Pan American champion, three-time individual Pan American champion and 2019 team world champion. ...

of Notre Dame.

Junior year (2010–2011)

During his junior season, Chamley-Watson had the choice to either

redshirt Redshirt, Red Shirt, or Redshirts may refer to: Sports * Redshirt (college sports) Redshirt, in United States college athletics, is a delay or suspension of an athlete's participation in order to lengthen their period of eligibility. Typically ...

his junior or senior season. He decided to compete in the NCAA Championships his junior year and redshirt during his senior season. He finished in second place in the championship tournament.

Senior year (2011–2012)

Chamley-Watson was a redshirt during his senior season. He earned a spot on the 2012 United States Olympic Fencing team as a foil fencer.

International career

Chamley-Watson entered the

2012 Summer 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 ...

as the No. 2 ranked foil fencer. His first round in the games he was presented a bye into the next round. In the second round, Chamley-Watson fenced

Alaaeldin Abouelkassem Alaaeldin Mohamed El-Sayed Abouelkassem (; born 25 November 1990) is an Egyptian fencer who won a silver medal in the men's foil event at the 2012 Summer Olympics. He took up fencing at the age of eight and, in 2008, began fencing internationall ...

, an opponent representing the country of Egypt, and was defeated 15 – 10. Abouelkassem went on to earn the silver medal in the event. In the team event, the United States beat France 45–39 in the quarterfinals, but lost 24–45 to Italy in the semi-final. In the bronze medal fight, the United States lost 27–45 to Germany. At the 2013 World Championships, Chamley-Watson became the first male US fencer to win an individual gold medal at the World Championships. At the

2016 Olympics The 2016 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXXI Olympiad () and officially branded as Rio 2016, were an international multi-sport event held from 5 to 21 August 2016 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, with preliminary events i ...

, Chamley-Watson again lost in the second round, this time to Russia's Artur Akhmatkhuzin, 13–15. In the team event, the United States beat Egypt 45–27 in the quarterfinals, before losing 41–45 to Russia in the semi-finals. In the bronze medal match, the United States beat Italy 45–31. At the

2024 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 ...

, Chamley-Watson competed as the fourth member of the American team, only competing in the team event and not the individual event. In the team event, the United States beat Egypt 45–35 in the quarterfinals, but lost 38–45 to Italy in the semi-finals. In the bronze medal match, the United States lost 32–45 to France.

Signature move

During a match in his

World Championships A world championship is generally an international competition open to elite competitors from around the world, representing their nations, and winning such an event will be considered the highest or near highest achievement in the sport, game ...

debut, Chamley-Watson wrapped his arm around the back of his head and struck his opponent in the chest with his foil. It was the first time a fencer had ever used this kind of behind-the-back flick in a competition. Unsure of its legality, the referee stopped the match to check the move on video replay. After it was determined to be legitimate, Chamley-Watson was awarded his own signature fencing move, eponymously named 'the Chamley-Watson'.

Medal record

Olympic Games

World Championship

Grand Prix

World Cup

Pan American Championship

Modeling

Growing up, Chamley-Watson was engaged in the fashion world by his mother, Elizabeth Chamley who was formerly a model in the UK. In addition to his interest in fashion, Chamley-Watson was motivated to begin modeling as a way to give the sport of fencing more exposure. When Chamley-Watson was 17-years-old, he was scouted by

Ford Models Ford Models, originally the Ford Modeling Agency, is an American international modeling agency based in New York City. It was established in 1946 by Eileen Ford and her husband Gerard W. Ford. History 20th century Eileen and Jerry began the bu ...

while walking on the street in New York City. However, he told the agency that he was going to college soon and couldn’t sign with them. A few years later, when Chamley-Watson redshirted his senior year of college to prepare for the Olympics, he took the opportunity to also begin modeling on the side. From there, Chamley-Watson’s modeling career grew. In 2017, Chamley-Watson signed with

IMG Models IMG, originally known as the International Management Group, is a global sports, fashion, events and media company headquartered in New York City. The company manages athletes and fashion celebrities; owns, operates and commercially represents ...

, and is still currently represented by them.

Sponsorships and partnerships

Chamley-Watson is currently sponsored by

Red Bull Red Bull is a brand of energy drinks created and owned by the Austrian company Red Bull GmbH. With a market share of 43%, it is the most popular energy drink brand as of 2020, and the third most valuable soft drink brand, behind Coca-Cola and ...

Nike Nike often refers to: * Nike, Inc., a major American producer of athletic shoes, apparel, and sports equipment * Nike (mythology), a Greek goddess who personifies victory Nike may also refer to: People * Nike (name), a surname and feminine giv ...

Richard Mille Richard Mille is a Swiss luxury watch company founded in 2001 by Dominique Guenat and Richard Mille, based in Les Breuleux, Switzerland. The brand specialises in high-priced clockwork watches, which have been criticised by some as "ridiculous" ...

, and

Cash App Cash App (formerly Square Cash) is a digital wallet for American consumers. Launched by Block, Inc. in 2013, it allows users to send, receive or save money, access a debit card, invest in stocks or bitcoin, apply for personal loans, and file tax ...

. He wears his sponsors’ logos on his fencing equipment—on his mask, glove, and jacket. Additionally, he regularly wears a Richard Mille watch and Nike fencing shoes and socks at competitions, as well as a Red Bull cap in between matches and on podiums. Chamley-Watson is also sponsored by Absolute Fencing Gear, who supply all of the fencing equipment for his training and competitions. As the most followed fencer in the world, Chamley-Watson frequently uses his social media to post about his sponsorships, and to also post about new and recurring partnerships. He is currently partnered with

Mercedes-Benz Mercedes-Benz (), commonly referred to simply as Mercedes and occasionally as Benz, is a German automotive brand that was founded in 1926. Mercedes-Benz AG (a subsidiary of the Mercedes-Benz Group, established in 2019) is based in Stuttgart, ...

Dior Christian Dior SE (), commonly known as Dior, is a French Multinational corporation, multinational luxury goods company that is controlled and chaired by French businessman Bernard Arnault, who also heads LVMH. , Dior controlled around 42% of ...

Michael Kors Michael David Kors (born Karl Anderson Jr. August 9, 1959) is an American fashion designer. He is the chief creative officer of his brand, Michael Kors, which sells men's and women's ready-to-wear, accessories, watches, jewelry, footwear, and f ...

, Dita Eyewear, and

DKNY DKNY is a New York City–based American fashion house for men and women, founded in 1984 by Donna Karan. The company specializes in a wide range of fashion products, including clothing, footwear, accessories and fragrances. A major misconcepti ...

Injury

In March 2021, during the Doha Grand Prix, Chamley-Watson suffered an injury during a match when his right knee was hit by his opponent’s foil, causing severe blunt trauma to the knee cap and almost breaking it. His knee injury caused him to be out for the remainder of the season and, consequently, miss the

2020 Summer Olympics The officially the and officially branded as were an international multi-sport event that was held from 23 July to 8 August 2021 in Tokyo, Japan, with some of the preliminary sporting events beginning on 21 July 2021. Tokyo ...

. Chamley-Watson spent the following months recovering. This was the first injury of Chamley-Watson’s career.

Personal life

Chamley-Watson has been involved in voters' rights, participating the ID check with

VoteRiders VoteRiders is an American non-partisan, non-profit 501(c)(3) organization whose mission is to ensure that all U.S. citizens over 18 years old are able to exercise their right to vote. One of its main focuses is assisting citizens who want to secu ...

and urging his followers to do the same.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Chamley-Watson, Miles 1989 births Living people American male foil fencers Fencers at the 2012 Summer Olympics Fencers at the 2016 Summer Olympics Medalists at the 2016 Summer Olympics Olympic bronze medalists for the United States in fencing Fencers from London Fencers at the 2011 Pan American Games Fencers at the 2023 Pan American Games Medalists at the 2011 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 from New York City Fencers from Philadelphia English emigrants to the United States American sportspeople of Jamaican descent American people of Irish descent American people of British descent American people of Malawian descent Penn State Nittany Lions fencers Male models from New York (state) Fencers at the 2024 Summer Olympics 21st-century American sportsmen