Team USA has won its first fencing medal in over thirty years at the Rio Olympics— thanks to Alexander Massialas, a foil fencer from San Francisco.
Massialas won the silver medal at the Rio 2016 Games.
He enrolled Stanford University on a fencing scholarship in the fall of 2012 and closed his freshman season by winning the 2013 NCAA title in individual men’s foil.
He repeated this feat in 2015 and took a year off from studies from Stanford to train for the Rio de Janeiro Olympics.
Fencing is a family affair. Massialas grew up in a fencing household. His father Greg Massialas, who emigrated from Greece when he was only ten years old is a legend in the sport.
He was a three-time Olympian in the 1980s, a referee and coach who is among the most influential fencing figures in American history.
4 comments
and instead of fencing for Greece he does for the U.S…..Of course how can you even do anything for something that is not in your soul……
If he Grew up in USA and this country offered him its top quality facilities and training,then why would he choose Greece.
Same applies to other athletes from diaspora,either in USA or Canada or Australia.I can’t blame them.Look up what happens with the funding and training of Greek athletes.
wasn’t he born in the US? so why the tragedy of him not representing Greece..allo drama!!!
besides, he got NO news coverage from Greek media.