Still feels unreal — last Sunday our own Joseph Guth won Gold at the Paris Marathon Fleuret, arguably the largest youth foil fencing competition in the world.

Two long days, 23 bouts, 166 fencers from 18 countries — and he fought through all of it with heart and focus. His family who accompanied him to this exciting event were all tearing up watching Joseph stand on the podium with the trophy in his hands and the American national anthem playing in the background.

What makes this even more special is where Joseph comes from — Cleveland, Ohio — not exactly a fencing hotspot, with limited training opportunities and no major competitive clubs, but our young club – Cleveland Fencing Academy – which was established only 5 years ago. The road to the Paris Gold was not easy.

Thank you so much to all of our CFA coaches who do the strength and skill training to keep this machine rolling!
Hard work, sacrifice, and belief paid off. We all are so proud of you, Joseph! ❤️