Nick Itkin ( ; born October 9, 1999) is an American

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. He is a two-time

Olympic 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 ...

bronze medalist, two-time World Championship individual medalist, 2023 Pan American Games team gold medalist, 2024 Pan American Games team gold medalist, and two-time NCAA individual champion. He earned the foil individual silver medal at the

2023 World Fencing Championships The 2023 World Fencing Championships were held from 22 to 30 July 2023 in Milan Milan ( , , ; ) is a city in northern Italy, regional capital of Lombardy, the largest city in Italy by urban area and the List of cities in Italy, second-mo ...

, to become the first U.S. man, and third U.S. fencer overall, to win individual medals at back-to-back World Fencing Championships. Itkin competed in his second Olympic Games representing the United States at the 2024 Paris Olympics, winning a bronze medal in the individual foil competition.

Early life

Itkin was born in Los Angeles, California, and is Jewish. His parents are Michael ("Misha"; a fencing coach) and Tatiana (a former

rhythmic gymnast Rhythmic gymnastics is a sport in which gymnasts perform individually or in groups on a floor with an apparatus: hoop, ball, clubs, ribbon and rope. The sport combines elements of gymnastics, dance and calisthenics; gymnasts must be strong, fle ...

, and current coach). His father emigrated from Ukraine to the United States, and opened up a fencing club in Los Angeles. His older sister Julia competed in rhythmic gymnastics for the US national team. He attended

Palisades Charter High School Palisades Charter High School (usually colloquially known as Pali or Pali High and abbreviated as PCHS) is an independent charter secondary school in Los Angeles, United States. The high school serves the neighborhoods of Pacific Palisades, ...

, graduating in 2017.

Fencing career

2015–19: Junior World Champion

Itkin trains under his father at Los Angeles International Fencing Center, which his father founded in 2003. In 2015, he was a Cadet Junior Olympics bronze medalist, and in 2016 he was a Cadet Pan American Championships gold medalist. In 2017 he was a Junior Pan American Championships silver medalist. At the 2018 Junior World Fencing Championships in Verona, Italy, Itkin won the

gold medal A gold medal is a medal awarded for highest achievement in a non-military field. Its name derives from the use of at least a fraction of gold in form of plating or alloying in its manufacture. Since the eighteenth century, gold medals have b ...

in foil. He defeated future world champion Tommaso Marini of Italy in the final. He also won a team bronze medal at the championships. When he then also won consecutive NCAA fencing championships in foil, in 2018 and 2019 as he fenced for 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 ...

where he studied political science, he decided to pursue fencing at the senior level. In 2018 he became the first American fencer to win gold medals at all three of the NCAA Fencing Championships, the US National Fencing championships, and the Junior World Fencing Championship in the same year.Ethan Olson (July 20, 2022)
"Foil Fencer Nick Itkin Wins First World Championships Medal In Cairo,"
Team USA. In 2019 he also won a team gold medal at the

2019 Pan American Fencing Championships The 2019 Pan American Fencing Championships were held in Toronto, Canada from 27 June to July 2, 2019. The competition was held at the Delta Hotel Toronto Airport and Conference Centre. Medal summary Men's events Women's events Medal table ...

in Toronto, Canada.

2020–23: First Olympics team medal and back-to-back World Championship medals

Itkin won the gold medal at a 2020 World Cup in Paris, becoming the youngest top-10 foil fencer in the world. Among other victories, in the competition he defeated the reigning world champion and world No. 3

Enzo Lefort Enzo Lefort (born 29 September 1991) is a French right-handed foil fencer. Lefort is a four-time team European champion, 2014 team world champion, and two-time individual world champion. A three-time Olympian, Lefort is a 2016 team Olympic si ...

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

, and the reigning Olympic champion

Daniele Garozzo Daniele Garozzo (; born 4 August 1992) is an Italian right-handed foil fencer. Garozzo is a 2022 team European champion, two-time individual European champion, and four-time team world champion. A two-time Olympian, Garozzo is a 2021 individ ...

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

. In 2021, Itkin won the U.S. National Championship in foil, in Philadelphia. At 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 ...

in Tokyo, at 21 years of age, Itkin won a

bronze medal A bronze medal in sports and other similar areas involving competition is a medal made of bronze awarded to the third-place finisher of contests or competitions such as the Olympic Games, Commonwealth Games, etc. The outright winner receives ...

with Team USA in the men's team foil competition. He came in 12th in the individual men's foil competition at the Olympics. At the

2022 Pan American Fencing Championships The 2022 Pan American Fencing Championships were held in Asunción, Paraguay at the Polideportivo Central del Parque Olímpico from June 3 to June 8, 2022. This tournament qualified fencers for the 2023 Pan American Games in Santiago, Chile. Par ...

in Asunción, Paraguay, he won a team gold medal, and an individual bronze medal. Itkin won an individual bronze medal in men's foil at the 2022 World Fencing Championships in

Cairo Cairo ( ; , ) is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Egypt and the Cairo Governorate, being home to more than 10 million people. It is also part of the List of urban agglomerations in Africa, largest urban agglomeration in Africa, L ...

Egypt Egypt ( , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a country spanning the Northeast Africa, northeast corner of Africa and Western Asia, southwest corner of Asia via the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to northe ...

. In the competition, he defeated world No. 6

Takahiro Shikine is a Japanese 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 wrappi ...

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

and former world champion and world No. 3

Alessio Foconi Alessio Foconi (born 22 November 1989) is an Italian right-handed foil fencer and 2021 Olympian. Foconi is a 2022 team European champion, 2019 individual European champion, three-time team world champion, and 2018 individual world champion. ...

, before losing to

of France by a score of 15–14 in the semifinals. Lefort won the final to become a two-time reigning world champion. In 2023, Itkin won the U.S. National Championship in foil for the fifth time, having won five of the six national championships contested between 2017 and 2023. With the 2023 championship, Itkin moved into fourth place on the all-time list of men's foil fencers with the most U.S. national indoor titles. Despite not winning an individual medal at any of the Grand Prix or World Cup events during the 2023 season, Itkin improved on his 2022 World Championships performance by winning the silver medal in Individual Men's Foil at the

. In a 2024 interview, Itkin discussed his tendency to perform better under pressure: "I just love that atmosphere, where the crowd is yelling and everyone's cheering, because when it's not like that, I have to kind of yell and force myself to get that kind of energy and atmosphere coming, but when it's already there naturally it's just so much easier for me." This medal was Itkin's third Senior Worlds medal in the past two years: individual bronze and team silver in 2022 and now individual silver in 2023. He became the first U.S. man, and third U.S. fencer overall, to win individual medals at back-to-back World Fencing Championships.

2024–present: World No. 1 and Olympic individual bronze medal

At the Foil Grand Prix held in

Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

in 2024, Itkin secured the gold medal in front of a home crowd. En route to his victory, Itkin defeated two-time Olympic individual medalist

by a score of 15-9 and fellow Italian and world No. 9 Filippo Macchi 15-6 before defeating

15-12 in the gold medal match, which was his closest bout of the tournament. In a dominant performance, Itkin outscored his opponents in D.C. by a combined count of 90-47. With this victory, Itkin became the top-ranked men's foil fencer in the world for the 2024 season. Itkin competed in his second Olympic Games representing the United States at the 2024 Paris Olympics. He won a bronze medal in the individual foil competition, defeating Japanese fencer and World No. 9 Kazuki Iimura in the bronze medal match to become just the fifth ever American foil fencer to bring home an individual Olympic medal. Fencing with Team USA in the team foil event, he and the team came in fourth.Will Horstman (August 4, 2024)
"Former Penn Stater Miles Chamley-Watson and Team USA fell in the men's team foil bronze medal bout,"
''The Daily Collegian''.

Medal record

Olympic Games

World Championship

Grand Prix

World Cup

Pan American Championship

References

External links

* *
Nick Itkin
at USA Fencing {{DEFAULTSORT:Itkin, Nick 1999 births Living people American male foil fencers American people of Ukrainian-Jewish descent Fencers at the 2019 Pan American Games Fencers at the 2020 Summer Olympics Fencers at the 2023 Pan American Games Fencers at the 2024 Summer Olympics Jewish foil fencers Jewish American sportspeople Medalists at the 2019 Pan American Games Medalists at the 2020 Summer Olympics Medalists at the 2023 Pan American Games Medalists at the 2024 Summer Olympics Notre Dame Fighting Irish fencers Olympic bronze medalists for the United States in fencing Pan American Games gold medalists for the United States in fencing People from Pacific Palisades, Los Angeles Fencers from Los Angeles World Cadets and Juniors Fencing Championships medalists World Fencing Championships medalists 21st-century American Jews 21st-century American sportsmen