Fencer Nick Itkin Wins Bronze at Olympics 

By STEVE GALLUZZO | Sports Editor

Having helped the United States men’s fencing team win the bronze medal in the foil at the Summer Olympics in Tokyo three years ago, Nick Itkin arrived in Paris for the 2024 Games determined to add an individual medal to his resume.

The 2017 Palisades Charter High School graduate accomplished that goal Monday, July 29, by winning the bronze medal in the individual foil—becoming the first American male in that event to stand on the podium since 2016.

Competing inside the historic glass-domed Grand Palais, the second-seeded Itkin first beat Alex Tofalides from Cyprus 15-10 in the round of 32, then outdueled Abdelrahman Hussein Tolba from Egypt 15-8 in the round of 16 before edging Guillaume Bianchi of Italy 15-14 in overtime in the Elite Eight.

In the semifinals, Itkin lost 15-11 to 11th-seeded Italian Filippo Macchi, setting up a third-place bout against No. 9-seeded Kazuki Iimura of Japan. Itkin used his quickness and counter striking to surge ahead, and he prevailed 15-12 in the first period, after which he embraced his coach and father Michael, a former elite fencer in the Ukraine.

The 24-year-old Itkin had placed 12th in the individual foil in Tokyo, but he was much more confident in his second Olympic appearance after earning bronze at the 2022 Senior World Championships in Cairo and silver at the 2023 World Championships in Milan. He hopes to add yet another medal in Paris in the team foil event, which starts August 4.

Itkin captured back-to-back individual national championships (2018 and 2019) while at the University of Notre Dame. He honed his skills at the LA International Fencing Center, which his father founded, and rose to No. 6 in the U.S. during his senior year at Palisades. He now lives two blocks from UCLA and is already looking forward to representing his country at the 2028 Summer Games in Los Angeles.

Itkin jones Charles Tatum (1904 bronze), Albertson Van Zo Post (1904 silver), Joseph Levis (1932 silver), Albie Axelrod (1960 bronze) and Alexander Massialas (2016 silver) as the only U.S. men in Olympic history to medal in the individual foil.

In the women’s foil competition on Sunday, July 28, Lee Kiefer and Lauren Scruggs won the gold and silver, so this is the first time ever that U.S. men and women have won individual medals at the same Olympics.