Fencers can sometimes seem to come out of nowhere and onto the world stage, but there is always a long and hard development behind that explosion. Even if you’re just twenty years old. Meet Nick Itkin.
Nick Itkin is currently ranked number seven in the world, which is truly remarkable for such a young fencer that just aged out of Juniors. He is the first American fencer to win titles at the NCAA Championship, Junior World Championship, and Division I in the same season. He also juggles his studies at Notre Dame, where he’s a junior and fences on the team.
Among the many remarkable things about this young man is his perspective on his place in Team USA as we move towards Tokyo 2020. He is a fencer who grew up looking up to the legendary Men’s Foil Team, who won Bronze in Rio in 2016 and Gold in the 2019 World Championship. He is knocking on the door of competing alongside those same foilists for Olympic glory next summer. How he has gotten there, through determination and humility, is part of what drives his success.
Nick spoke to us from Los Angeles, where he is currently training for the last qualifier to guarantee his individual spot at the Olympic Games in Tokyo. He already qualified to represent the USA in the team event. In this interview, we learn how he has taken advantage of opportunities and discovered a boldness that is both valuable and inspiring.
