Team USA’s All-Harvard Men’s Saber Fencing Crashes Out of Individual Tournament in Paris

Team USA’s all-Harvard men’s fencing saber squad crashed out of the individual tournament at the 2024 Paris Olympics on Saturday, a shock upset for a group that many expected to compete for at least two spots on the podium.

The four-man saber team, led by three-time Olympian and reigning saber world champion Eli Dershwitz ’19, were swiftly eliminated from the tournament as the Crimson saber fencers all suffered defeats in their first or second bouts.

The 4th-seeded Dershwitz suffered a brutal upset in his first bout of the tournament as the 29th-seeded Hungarian Csanád Gémesi dominated at the end of the bout to win 15-10.

Though Dershwitz and Gémesi initially found themselves in a tightly contested bout with multiple lead changes through the first half, Gémesi had a slight 8-7 advantage at the half. Dershwitz later scored three points to tie the bout at 10, before Gémesi punched his ticket to the round of 16 by scoring five straight points against Dershwitz.

Incoming Harvard freshman Colin Heathcock was also upset in the first bout of the tournament, as the 5th-seeded American lost 15-10 to South Korea’s 28th-seeded Park Sangwon.

Heathcock started strong as he took a quick and aggressive 4-0 lead against Park. But the tables quickly turned as Park won the next eight points, which he were mostly awarded by the referee through right-of-way — a set of criteria in saber fencing that the referee uses to determine who wins closely contested points.

Heathcock gained momentum for a comeback as he won the first three points after the half, but Park continued to steal the bout’s most closely contested points as the referee ruled in his favor. Heathcock won a couple more points toward the end of the bout, but it wasn’t enough to prevent Park from sending him back home to the Olympic Village.

Mitchell S. Saron ’24, the lowest seeded American in the tournament, had the most success on a disappointing day for the Crimson Olympians with a victory over France’s Maxime Pianfetti in the round of 32.

Saron literally jumped to a lead at the start of the bout, leaping in the air to score his first point. The 23 year-old American won six of the first seven points and entered the half with an 8-2 advantage. Pianfetti gained some momentum in the second half to come within a two-point deficit, but Saron remained in control and clinched the tournament’s sole victory for Team USA with a 15-12 win.

As Saron walked off the piste with his first Olympic win, he confidently raised a finger to his lips and shushed the disappointed crowd who were pulling for Pianfetti.

The script quickly flipped as Saron fell 15-12 to Egypt’s Ziad Elsissy in the round of 16. Saron put up a valiant effort as he kept the bout competitive until the last point, but he ultimately could not overcome the tournament’s No. 1 seed.

Elsissy took an early lead against Saron, as the two athletes went back-and-forth for much of the first half. With the two fencers tied at 5, Elsissy won the next three points to take an 8-5 lead into the half. Saron closed the gap to pull within one point of Elsissy near the end of the bout, but Elsissy secured a place in the next round with a right-of-way call that went in his favor.

Despite a difficult day for Team USA’s men’s saber team, they will have an opportunity for redemption at the team event on Wednesday, where Dershwitz, Heathcock, and Saron will be joined by alternate Filip J. Dolegiewicz ’24.

The all-Harvard team will look to repeat their success from earlier this year, when they took home gold medals in March at the team event during the Saber World Cup in Budapest.

—Staff writer Thomas Harris can be reached at thomas.harris@thecrimson.com.