News and Insights
Countdown to the 2024 Paris Summer Olympics
April 10, 2024
Recently, our Consumer Lifestyle and Sports (CLS) client partner USA Fencing announced the qualifications of 15 of its athletes for the 2024 Summer Games in Paris. They include past Olympians Gerek Meinhardt (2020 and 2016 Bronze – Team Foil) and Jackie Dubrovich (2020 – Foil), as well as newcomers Lauren Scruggs (Foil), Magda Skarbonkiewicz (Saber), and Elizabeth Tartakovsky (Saber) and more.
April 17 will mark the 100 day countdown to the start of the Summer Olympics and Paralympics, which will run from July 26 – August 11. For USA Fencing’s best, it’s the opportunity to shine on the world’s greatest stage, which the team has done at the last five Summer Games. Since 2004, USA Fencing has tallied at least one medal, putting its signature as one of the most revered fencing institutions in the world. In fact, USA ranks fifth all-time in the Fencing Medal Table, trailing only Italy, France, Hungary and Germany.
The sport of fencing has a rich history at the Summer Games. It is one of only sports to have been contested at every Summer Olympics since 1896, along with Athletics, Cycling, Swimming and Gymnastics. Fencing is fast-paced, where hand and eye coordination are an absolute essential in succeeding in this sport. You don’t always have to be the biggest, or the strongest to be the best fencer. It’s about timing, accuracy, out-thinking your opponent and envisioning their next move before they do so. Simply put, fencing is human chess.
For our team, working with the terrific athletes of USA Fencing is another feather in the cap of our CLS team, which has a longstanding history of promoting athletes and brands at 10 Olympic games. We have more than two decades of experience working with several of the most recognized Olympians of our time including Shaun White, Carissa Moore, Bode Miller, and others. Our relationships with top-tier national and local market media decision makers have helped us elevate brands, athletes, and new sports and disciplines such as snowboarding, freeskiing, BMX and surfing for their Olympic debut.
I was able to get my first taste of fencing up close in March, as several of the world’s top foil fencers made their way to Washington D.C. for the FIE Foil Grand Prix. The energy inside the Walter E. Washington Convention Center was electric from the very first matches on Friday afternoon, to the finals on Sunday evening, which saw 2020 Gold Medalist Lee Kiefer and Bronze winner Nick Itkin capture the men’s and women’s titles respectively. I also had the chance to meet Olympian Jackie Dubrovich, who ironically enough, was a student of my wife for three years at Riverdale Public School.
To say I have caught the Olympic bug is an understatement. While trying to maintain a level of professionalism, I couldn’t help but start cheering for our fencers. Maybe it was because the crowd was amped and on the edge of their seat with every point. Perhaps it was what was at stake, which was an opportunity to potentially represent their country in Paris. Or even it was the overall competitive nature of world-class athletes pitted against one another. My feeling is it was all three rolled into one into an indoor venue in our nation’s capital.
We are a little less than four months from the 2024 Summer Olympic and Paralympic Games, but our CLS team is ready – are you?
POSTED BY: Max DeFilippis
