Eli Dershwitz, 28, is a left-handed saber fencer from the United States who has won four Pan American titles individually, two Olympianies, and the 2023 World Saber Championship. He earned a spot in the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris.
Eli Dershwitz qualified for the Paris Olympics 2024
The skilled fencer Eli Dershwitz has earned a place in the upcoming Paris Olympics in 2024. He achieved this by winning a silver medal with his team at the Padua World Cup competition on March 3, 2024.
Last year, at the World Championships held in Milan, Italy, Dershwitz won six matches. His outstanding performance culminated in a victory over Sandro Bazadze from Georgia, who was ranked as the world’s number-one fencer. With this victory, Eli became the first American fencer to win gold in the saber event at the World Championships, making it clear that he was aiming for the Olympics.
At the recent Padua World Cup, Dershwitz finished in 5th place in the individual competition. However, his team managed to win the final bout by a margin of 45-44, showcasing their exceptional skills and determination.
By securing a silver medal in the team event, the United States team, including Dershwitz, officially qualified for the Olympics. Dershwitz’s success on the international fencing stage has cemented his position in the upcoming Paris Olympics, reflecting his dedication and talent in the sport.
Eli Dershwitz’s Family Life, His Grand Parents, and Early Life
Eli Dershwitz was born on September 23, 1995, in a Jewish family. He grew up in Sherborn, Massachusetts. Now, he lives in New York City. He stands at 6 feet 1 inch (1.85 meters), and weighs around 174 pounds (79 kilograms). He trains at the Tim Morehouse Fencing Club under coach Zoran Tulum, who won junior national championships in Yugoslavia in foil and saber fencing.
His parents are Renee Goetzler and Mark Dershwitz. He has an older brother, Phil, who fenced for Princeton University, and a twin sister, Sally, who competed in gymnastics and lacrosse.
His maternal grandparents, Ruth and Mark Goetzler, survived the Holocaust. Ruth was born in Tarnów, Poland, and hid in a barn from the Nazis with the help of a Polish farmer. Mark was born in Jasło, Poland, and also lived in Samarkand, Uzbekistan.
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His paternal grandparents were Arthur Dershwitz and Tillie (née Segel) Dershwitz.
He attended the Conservative synagogue Temple Israel in Natick and had his bar mitzvah in 2008. Dershwitz played basketball and soccer until the end of middle school. He went to Dover-Sherborn High School and graduated in 2014. Eli then studied at Harvard University, majoring in history and graduating in 2019. He was part of the Harvard Crimson fencing team.
Eli Dershwitz is in a relationship with his girlfriend Keren
Eli Dershwitz’s girlfriend is named Keren. She was born on July 9th. They have been dating each other since June 2, 2020.
Not much information is publicly available about Keren because details about her are kept private. Therefore, her background and personal details are not known.
Eli Dershwitz Early Begining of Fencing
Dershwitz started training with Tulum in 2004 when he was 9 years old at the Zeta Fencing Club in Natick, Massachusetts. The club later moved to Ashland, Massachusetts.
Dershwitz won a silver medal at the Junior World Championships In 2012.
In March 2013, he was the highest-ranked junior saber fencer in the United States.
In 2014, Dershwitz won the US Men’s Saber National Championship, becoming the youngest ever to hold that title. He was also named an All-American, and All-Ivy League player, and finished third at the NCAA Fencing Championships with a record of 22 wins and 2 losses.
In 2015, he then won the Junior World Fencing Championships in saber, becoming the first American man to win a world title in this event. He was also the Pan American Games champion in saber that year.
In 2016, Dershwitz was ranked number 1 in saber in the US and number 10 in the world by the summer. As a sophomore, he was again an All-American and All-Ivy League player, and this time he won the NCAA Fencing Championship in men’s saber, becoming the first Harvard fencer to achieve this since 2007.
Eli Dershwitz World Championships
In February, he defeated Russia’s 2015 world champion Alexey Yakimenko at the Warsaw World Cup. Eli in March 2016, wins gold at the Seoul Grand Prix in South Korea, he beat 2014 world silver medalist Gu Bon-gil of Korea in the quarterfinals, 2014 world champion Nikolay Kovalev of Russia in the semifinals, and Iran’s Mojtaba Abedini in the final.
In February 2017, Dershwitz won the individual saber Ivy League Championship. Dershwitz in March, won the individual saber event at the NCAA Fencing Championships and was again named a first-team All-American. In May, he won a silver medal at the Villa de Madrid, his first individual World Cup medal.
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Eli in June 2017 won an individual saber silver medal at the Pan American Fencing Championships. In July of that year, he won the gold medal in saber at the Maccabiah Games. In November 2017, he won a saber World Cup event.
Dershwitz in February 2018 ranked 6th in the world, as he beat two-time Olympic champion Aron Szilagyi of Hungary to win the saber fencing World Cup event in Padua, Italy. In April, he won a bronze medal at a men’s saber grand prix event in Seoul, South Korea.
In February 2019, he won the gold medal at the Men’s Saber World Cup in Warsaw, Poland.
“Amazing and emotional day as my mother told me this morning that my Polish grandparents, who came to America 75 years ago, would be watching over me today.”
After his win, he posted on Instagram
Eli in his Recent years
In 2021, Dershwitz represented the United States in fencing at the 2020 Olympics held in Tokyo. He lost in the round of 16 to Kim Jung-Hwan of Korea, who went on to win the bronze medal.
In 2022, he participated in the Senior World Championship. His efforts helped the team secure a silver medal win in the individual event at the Senior World Championship.
In 2023, at the age of 27, Dershwitz won the men’s World Saber Championship, becoming the first American man to achieve this title. In the competition, he defeated several top fencers, including Hungary’s Áron Szilágyi, who was the reigning world champion and a three-time Olympic champion. Trailing 10-4 against Szilágyi, Dershwitz made a remarkable comeback and won 15-13.
He also beat Korea’s Gu Bon-gil (a two-time Olympic gold medalist), Italy’s Luigi Samele (World No. 3 and a three-time Olympic medalist), Korea’s Ha Han-sol (2019 Team World Champion), and Georgia’s Sandro Bazadze (World No. 1 and the reigning European champion). Dershwitz became the first American man to win an individual world championship title in saber. He joined the ranks of other Jewish fencers who had won the saber world championship.
