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While Utah spent the weekend reliving its Winter Olympic legacy, hundreds of teens at the Calvin L. Rampton Salt Palace Convention Center had their minds turned to thoughts of summer.
Summer 2016, that is. Young fencers from around the country gathered in downtown Salt Lake City for the Junior Olympic Fencing Championships. A strong finish could garner them a spot at next month's Junior World Championships in Moscow, and eventually lead to a spot on the Olympic fencing team for the 2016 Games in Rio de Janeiro.
The clang of metal on metal paired with roars of triumph and frustration as 1,500 fencers, none older than 20, raised their sabers, epees and foils to face off during the competition, which runs through Monday. The competition — and U.S. fencing in general — has seen tremendous growth over the past few years, said Greg Dilworth, executive director of USA Fencing. The sport has gained popularity for its reputation of using the wits as well as athleticism, he said.
"It's a wonderful marriage of the athletic and the cerebral," Dilworth said. "You can't just out-muscle your opponent, you also have to out-think them."
That was part of the appeal for Evan Rutherford, 17, of Denver, in town to fence in the Junior Men's Foil and Team Foil events. Team sports are often not a good option for home-schooled students like Rutherford, he said, because they are tied to school teams. But fencing is more popular as a club sport, allowing flexibility with scheduling and competition at every skill level.
Plenty of the fencers in town are like Rutherford — competing only for fun. But for athletes like Anna Van Brummen of Houston, the competition is just a stop on the world competition stage. An epee silver medal in the Junior World Cup in Sweden assured Van Brummen a spot in Moscow, and she hopes to make an Olympic run in 2016.
"I got to be here in Salt Lake City for the Olympics," Van Brummen, 17, said, "so I would love to experience another one. I was just little, but I remember it being so exciting."
Utah will have at least one representative at the Moscow World Championships — Dylan Nollner of Ogden. The Duke University sophomore finished second in Junior Men's Epee, giving him enough tournament points to move into third place overall and a spot on the team.
Traditionally the United States has not been considered a major power in the fencing world, said coach Akhi Spencer-El, who fenced men's saber in the 2000 Sydney Olympics. But as the sport increases in popularity, U.S. fencers are slowly becoming a formidable force, picking up medals in each Olympics and World Championships since Sydney.
"To watch these kids who are making it now reminds me of how far it has come," Spencer-El said. "Before my generation, the U.S. was never really in contention."
Join the club
USA Fencing is always looking for future Olympians. To learn more about the sport, or find a club, visit http://www.usfencing.org. Or check out the competition at the Salt Palace Convention Center Sunday and Monday beginning at 8:30 a.m. The competition is free and open to the public.