Haddad Wins Championship Title at USA Fencing Junior Olympics
February 17, 2019
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Bethesda teen fencer wins National Championship title
Washington, Feb. 17, 2019 – Today, Justin Haddad, 16, of Bethesda, Maryland won gold and the Championship title in Cadet Men’s Epee at the USA Fencing Junior Olympic Championships, held in Denver, Colorado over President’s Day weekend. This is Haddad’s first medal at the Junior Olympics, or “JOs,” which is the culminating national fencing event of the season for cadet (under 17) and junior (under 20) fencers in foil, sabre, and epee. Haddad is a member of DC Fencers Club in Silver Spring, Maryland.
Haddad joined more than 2,000 competitors at 2019 Junior Olympic Championships, held at the Denver Convention Center. Athletes from 44 states and the District Columbia are competing for gold in individual and team junior and cadet events in all three weapons.
To win gold in Cadet Men’s Epee, Haddad fenced a nearly 11-hour event, that started in the morning with a round robin “pool bout” of five-point bouts against six competitors. Haddad handily won all his bouts, giving him a strong, third-seed ranking going into the direct elimination round of 15-point bouts. He sailed through six elimination rounds, facing Daniel Shifron of Team Touch Fencing Center (San Diego, CA) in the finals. Haddad trailed Shifron by four points in the first period, but regrouped in the second period to tie the score 12-12, winning by one touch 15-14 to take the Championship title.
“It’s fantastic to end my [Cadet] career on this,” said Haddad. While Haddad fell short of earning a spot on the U.S. team for the Junior World Championships, he savored his achievement. “I’ve been struggling this year. I didn’t get a top 32 in any Cadet North American Cup this season, although I made top 16 in two Junior events, which is supposedly harder,” he remarked, as he is aging up to the Junior (under 20) category.
“I’m thinking, this is my last event, I’m going to focus from beginning to end. I kept my calm, I fenced, and I won.”
Haddad’s game plan capitalized on the new “unwillingness to fence” penalty (aka P-card). The P-card was introduced in January and is being tested at JOs this weekend. In this new rule, if no touch is scored in one minute of a three-minute period, the fencer with the lower score or lower seed is punished with penalty cards that can add up to a point for their opponent.
“I think I got a P-card in every single one of my bouts, from top 16 to the semifinals,” said Haddad. “I tried to strategize around it; unless it’s a red card, you can use that tactic. I was patient, kept fencing my game, waiting for them. If they had a yellow card, I forced them to come to me,” he added.
Next week, Haddad will pack his fencing bag to compete in the Junior and Cadet Pan American Championships, held February 26 in Bogota, Colombia. He is a junior in the Science, Mathematics and Computer Science Magnet program at Montgomery Blair High School in Silver Spring.
Haddad is a longtime member of DC Fencers Club in Silver Spring, Maryland. There, Haddad trains with Head Coach Janusz Smolenski, Coach Robert Suchorski, and Coach Byron Neslund. Haddad is one of many Junior Olympic Champions to come from DC Fencers Club. Among them, Amanda Sirico, who earned JO Championship titles in 2012, 2015, and a Team Women’s Epee Senior World Championship title in 2018.
For 29 years, DC Fencers Club (DCFC) has consistently produced national and international champions. We polish the skills of fencers who strive to compete at the highest level, and we encourage fencers of all ages and ability levels. For more information on classes, camps, and lessons, visit us at www.dcfencing.com.
#