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Fil-Am fencer secures spot in US team bound for Paris Olympics

Sports

Fil-Am fencer secures spot in US team bound for Paris Olympics

By Kristel Satumbaga-Villar

At A Glance

A Filipino-American is ready to make waves in the 2024 Paris Olympics after Mitchell Saron secured a spot in the United States men's sabre team.

A Filipino-American is ready to make waves in the 2024 Paris Olympics after Mitchell Saron secured a spot in the United States men’s sabre team.

It will be the first Olympic stint for the 23-year-old Saron, who was born in New Jersey to a Filipina mother. He clinched a berth after their team won a silver medal at the Padua World Cup and a gold medal at the Men’s Saber World Cup in Budapest, Hungary both last month.

Photo from USA Fencing

A former Harvard University standout, Saron got hooked into the sport after watching ‘Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith’ as a child. He said he loved being able to live his childream of being a real life Jedi.

“It hasn’t really sunk in yet,” said Saron, a three-season standout for the men’s fencing team, in an interview with The Harvard Crimson.

“This achievement is a dream come true, one I’ve had since I was nine years old and first picked up a saber,” he added.

Saron said most of his Olympic qualifying points were earned in the first half of the season, and even though that qualifying for Paris was unattainable after a thumb injury on his fencing hand, making him unable to compete for the US team in the international tournament last November in Algeria.

He and his coach, however, developed a technique to adapt to his injury and went on to return competing starting in December until the team event in Budapest.

With the qualification, Saron is focused on “fine-tuning every aspect of (my) preparation -- physical, mental and technical.”

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