"I Will Go Through Fire for My Students" - Olympic Coach Igor Gantsevich on Coaching, Immigration & Dynamo Fencing Club | Direct Elimination Ep. 31

Our Wildest Fencing Season Yet — End of Season Recap

The Fencing Podcast of All Fencing Podcasts. Ari beat Olympic and world champion Masaru Yamada at the Medellín Fencing World Cup, Stephen and the New York Athletic Club won the Senior National Team Championship, and somehow we still squeezed in three weddings, a sponsor visit, a full-reset hike in the mountains above Medellín, and a tarmac wait that almost cost us a flight to Switzerland. This is the end of the 2025–2026 fencing season — every win, every loss, and what it taught us heading into LA 2028. CHAPTERS 00:00 Cold open 00:22 Catching up after a wild stretch of fencing 02:43 Senior Nationals: Nathaniel Wimmer makes history 03:36 Stephen + NYAC win the Division I team championship 04:32 Ari's mental lapse! 07:12 Ari's 9th place finish — and the full-body cramps 08:13 Touchdown in Medellín, Colombia 11:24 The Easy Path Crew is born (USA teammates drawn against each other) 16:16 Day off: a mountain excursion above Medellín with no cell service 21:42 Day 2 in Medellín — Ari's career-best run begins 23:14 Drawing Masaru Yamada — Olympic medalist, world champion silver 27:53 The fall heard around the venue 29:33 Sudden death: beating a world champion 32:14 Congrad Kongstad brings reality back 34:30 Between Colombia and Bern: weddings, work, and prep 37:58 Ari ranked 5th — a sudden Bern qualification 42:00 Four hours on the tarmac 43:23 Bern Day 1: Easy Path Crew, take two 50:53 Processing a loss the same way you'd process a win 52:34 Stephen finds the "Jake Jets" 56:17 Working a full-time job from a Swiss hotel until 11 PM 58:34 Day 2: rematching Akira Komata 1:03:36 Team event: the Kazakhstan comeback 1:11:00 Shout-outs: Alexandre Pittet & Anton "Soup" Piskovatskov 1:18:30 LA 2028 is officially real 1:22:24 Thank-yous and sign-off Theme song written and performed by Colin Campbell 🔗 CONNECT WITH COLIN 📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/campbelltunes/?hl=en [https://www.instagram.com/campbelltunes/?hl=en] Thank you for listening! 🔗 Connect with Us 🎧 Listen on Spotify & Apple: https://link.me/directelimination [https://link.me/directelimination] 📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/directelimination/ [https://www.instagram.com/directelimination/] 🎵 TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@directeliminationpodcast [https://www.tiktok.com/@directeliminationpodcast] 📺 Subscribe for more episodes: youtube.com/@DirectElimination [https://www.youtube.com/@DirectElimination] Prieur USA Website: https://www.prieurusa.com/ [https://www.prieurusa.com/] 📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/prieur_usa/ [https://www.instagram.com/prieur_usa/]

NCAA Fencing Champion & Paris Olympian Elizabeth Tartakovsky on Women's Saber Fencing, Harvard & Finding Joy Again | Direct Elimination Ep. 32

Paris Olympian Elizabeth Tartakovsky opens up about women's saber fencing, chasing the Olympics, and what comes after the dream. The Fencing Podcast of All Fencing Podcasts. In this episode, you'll discover: • How Elizabeth Tartakovsky went from getting kicked out of ballet to becoming a Paris Olympian in women's saber fencing • The mental game of defending your best-ever season when Olympic qualification is on the line • What legendary coach Yury Gelman taught her that had nothing to do with fencing technique • Why elite fencers quit after college — and what the sport loses when they do Elizabeth Tartakovsky is a Paris 2024 Olympian, two-time World Cup bronze medalist, Pan American champion, and NCAA individual champion who fenced for Harvard University under coach Yury Gelman, one of the most respected names in saber fencing. What's your biggest mental challenge in fencing — the competition itself, the training grind, or staying motivated after a big result? Drop it in the comments below. ⏱️ CHAPTERS 00:00:00 Intro 00:00:26 Introduction & Guest Credentials 00:02:02 Origin Story: How Liz Found Fencing 00:05:21 The 'All In' Moment: Going Competitive 00:08:27 Peaks and Valleys: Navigating Plateaus 00:12:33 The Paris Olympic Journey 00:14:42 Career Highlights & Favorite Memories 00:18:24 Life After Paris: Taking a Break & Coming Back 00:23:32 The Dropout Problem: Fencing After College 00:27:25 Coaching Legend Yury Gelman: Behind the Curtain 00:33:51 Harvard Fencing & the Power of Team 00:37:01 New Jersey State Champion & Fencing's Small World 00:40:46 Upcoming Clinic with Maya Chamberlain & Nora Burke 00:43:29 One Light Answers: Rapid Fire Round 00:45:40 Flunge Tips, Tennis & Closing Fun 00:51:54 Closing Remarks & Where to Find Liz 💬 BEST QUOTES "I loved being unique and kind of telling my friends, you know what I did?" "I think I learned just from a few painful losses. It was it was kind of a turning point early on that, like, okay, this is a serious thing. If I want to continue, I actually have to put in the work, and want it for myself." "The year before Paris was my best season ever. I surpassed every goal. I didn't know I'd ever be ranked in the top 16 in the world." "It's a game at the end of the day. And I think this is the most amount of kind of play I've had in the sport in a long time." Theme song written and performed by Colin Campbell 🔗 CONNECT WITH COLIN 📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/campbelltunes/?hl=en [https://www.instagram.com/campbelltunes/?hl=en] Thank you for listening! 🔗 Connect with Us 🎧 Listen on Spotify & Apple: https://link.me/directelimination [https://link.me/directelimination] 📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/directelimination/ [https://www.instagram.com/directelimination/] 🎵 TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@directeliminationpodcast [https://www.tiktok.com/@directeliminationpodcast] 📺 Subscribe for more episodes: youtube.com/@DirectElimination [https://www.youtube.com/@DirectElimination] Prieur USA Website: https://www.prieurusa.com/ [https://www.prieurusa.com/] 📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/prieur_usa/ [https://www.instagram.com/prieur_usa/]

"I Will Go Through Fire for My Students" - Olympic Coach Igor Gantsevich on Coaching, Immigration & Dynamo Fencing Club | Direct Elimination Ep. 31

Igor Gantsevich took Dynamo Fencing Club and built it into 500+ members after injuries ended his career. His family is the immigrant story driving Canadian fencing forward. The Fencing Podcast of All Fencing Podcasts. In this episode, you'll discover: • How Igor pivoted from a career-ending wrist injury to building one of North America's largest fencing clubs — with 500+ members, 30 full-time staff, three Vancouver locations, and a new USA location coming soon • The father-son coaching dynamic that shaped Igor's entire philosophy, and why he treats every student like his own child • The Nick Zhang story: the Junior Worlds moment where Igor's sideline emotion may have cost his athlete a bout — and what he said to him afterward • Why Igor believes complacency is a disease, and how that mindset has driven Dynamo's growth, Team Canada's ambitions, and his refusal to ever retire Igor Gantsevich is the President of Dynamo Fencing Club and the High Performance Director of Fencing Canada — a former national team athlete whose competitive career was cut short by injury, who then channeled that drive into building one of the most respected fencing programs in the world. What's the moment — in sport, coaching, or life — where someone told you that you couldn't do it, and you proved them wrong? Tell us in the comments. ⏱️ CHAPTERS 00:00:00 Intro 00:03:27 Growing Up: Tennis Dreams and the Accidental Fencer 00:06:19 Rising Through the Ranks: Junior Worlds and the Canadian National Team 00:08:21 Career-Ending Injuries and the Pivot to Coaching 00:12:59 Starting from Scratch: Schools, Outreach, and Early Club Days 00:15:47 The Academy: Fencing as a PE Credit in West Vancouver Schools 00:19:28 Building Dynamo: Size, Staff, and the Austin Expansion 00:26:25 Immigration, Passion, and Coaching Like a Father 00:31:11 The Nick Zhang Story: When Emotion Costs Your Athlete a Bout 00:36:38 Business Lessons: Patience, Belief, Honesty, and Community 00:44:31 The Origin of the Name 'Dynamo' 00:49:26 Goals as a Coach: Olympic Medals, Hunger, and Never Retiring 01:00:03 The Global Fencing Landscape: Asia Rising and North America's Moment 01:05:43 Retaining Athletes Post-College and the Future of Professional Fencing 01:12:15 Rapid Fire Questions and Closing Thoughts 💬 BEST QUOTES "One word: immigration. Very simple. We're survivors. We fought for everything that we have" "I will go through fire for my students. And now that I'm high performance director of Team Canada, I'll go through fire for my country." 🔗 Connect with Igor 📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/igor_gantsevich/ [https://www.instagram.com/igor_gantsevich/] Connect with Dynamo Fencing Club 🔗 Connect with Colin 📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dynamofencing/ [https://www.instagram.com/dynamofencing/] 🎵 TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@dynamofencing [https://www.tiktok.com/@dynamofencing] 📺 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCaUEXzPBdw7nsg8VhWGb6bQ [https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCaUEXzPBdw7nsg8VhWGb6bQ] Theme song written and performed by Colin Campbell 🔗 Connect with Colin 📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/campbelltunes/?hl=en [https://www.instagram.com/campbelltunes/?hl=en] Thank you for listening! 🔗 Connect with Us 🎧 Listen on Spotify & Apple: https://link.me/directelimination [https://link.me/directelimination] 📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/directelimination/ [https://www.instagram.com/directelimination/] 🎵 TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@directeliminationpodcast [https://www.tiktok.com/@directeliminationpodcast] 📺 Subscribe for more episodes: youtube.com/@DirectElimination [https://www.youtube.com/@DirectElimination] Prieur USA Website: https://www.prieurusa.com/ [https://www.prieurusa.com/] 📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/prieur_usa/ [https://www.instagram.com/prieur_usa/]

3x Olympian Kat Holmes Used Game Theory to Win a World Championship Gold | Direct Elimination Ep. 30

3-time Olympian & World Champion Kat Holmes used game theory to win. She qualified for the Olympics while surviving medical school on zero sleep. This is an elite competitor.  The Fencing Podcast of All Fencing Podcasts. In this episode, you'll discover: • How Kat used her Princeton thesis on Nash equilibrium to develop an overtime fencing strategy that helped anchor Team USA to the 2018 World Championship title • What it actually looked like to train for the Olympics while completing medical school — the sleep deprivation, the mental health struggles, and how she got through it • The shocking moment Kat was asked to testify at a legal hearing for the Alan Hadzic safe sport case the night before her Olympic debut at Tokyo • How Kat's biomechanics research on fencing lunges and injury patterns is shaping the future of sports medicine for fencers Kat Holmes is a three-time Olympian (Rio, Tokyo, Paris), 2018 World Championship anchor for Team USA's women's épée squad, four-time NCAA All-American at Princeton, and a practicing medical professional whose scientific research is now focused on the sport she's spent her life mastering. ⏱️ CHAPTERS 00:00:00 Introduction 00:04:06 A Nine-Year-Old Who Wanted to Sword Fight 00:06:54 The Distinctive Style 00:09:19 Fencing, Princeton, and the Road to the Olympics 00:13:04 Paris: The Final Hurrah 00:19:34 Tokyo Olympics 00:25:05 Medical School, Mental Health, and Burnout 00:27:54 Leveling Up as a Team 00:29:44 Becoming the Best Anchor in the World 00:32:31 Kat's Winning Thesis 00:35:32 Winning Strategy, Commitment, and Tactical Discipline 00:41:43 Performance Optimization 00:44:14 Biomechanics Research 00:50:03 One Light Answers 00:54:33 Closing Thoughts 💬 BEST QUOTES "I will say that medical school and qualifying for the Olympics was like the hardest. I can't honestly imagine anything harder. I didn't sleep for two years." "I never want to have to wonder, like, what if? What if I had worked harder? What if I had done this? I really wanted to always leave it on the table." "I think at one point I probably was the best anchor in the world for like a little minute." "I don't have an Olympic medal. Do I want one? Yes. Would I like to be Olympic champion? Obviously. But I think, you know, the body of my career more speaks to the heart and soul that I put into it." 🔗 Connect with Kat 📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/worldfencingleague [https://www.instagram.com/katholmes46] Theme song written and performed by Colin Campbell 🔗 Connect with Colin 📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/campbelltunes/?hl=en [https://www.instagram.com/campbelltunes/?hl=en] Thank you for listening! 🔗 Connect with Us 🎧 Listen on Spotify & Apple: https://link.me/directelimination [https://link.me/directelimination] 📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/directelimination/ [https://www.instagram.com/directelimination/] 🎵 TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@directeliminationpodcast [https://www.tiktok.com/@directeliminationpodcast] 📺 Subscribe for more episodes: youtube.com/@DirectElimination [https://www.youtube.com/@DirectElimination] Prieur USA Website: https://www.prieurusa.com/ [https://www.prieurusa.com/] 📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/prieur_usa/ [https://www.instagram.com/prieur_usa/]

World Fencing League Debut: What Happens Next?

World Fencing League finally debuted with the most eyes on fencing since Paris. We break down every match, the $10K prizes, and why the tech disappointed. The Fencing Podcast of All Fencing Podcasts. In this episode, you'll discover: • Why the WFL debut may be the biggest moment for fencing since the Paris Olympics and what it still needs to fix to become a real league • How $10,000 per match compares to winning an entire World Championship, and what that prize structure means for athlete motivation • A full match-by-match breakdown including Maia Chamberlain's MVP performance, Lee Kiefer's opening bout, and Ryan Choi vs. Miles Chamley-Watson closing the night • Why Dentsu's much-hyped blade-tracking and 3D replay technology fell flat in live execution, and what the WFL must do differently next time Direct Elimination is your home for honest, knowledgeable fencing coverage that doesn't talk down to the sport or the fans. Whether you've been fencing for twenty years or you just found out epee exists, this is the show for you. The World Fencing League just ran its first-ever event, and we give you the complete recap. We celebrate what the WFL got right, call out what it got wrong, and lay out what needs to happen for this league to actually build the fencing audience it's promising. ⏱️ CHAPTERS 00:00:12 Intro 00:02:30 World Fencing League Debut... First Impressions 00:06:29 Cash Prizes: A Game Changer for Fencing 00:09:42 New Rule Sets, Tech, and Fencing's Future 00:12:53 Match 1 Recap 00:18:46 Match 2 Recap 00:21:57 Matches 3 & 4 00:27:47 Match 5 Recap 00:29:55 Match 6 & Closing Ceremony 00:34:27 What Could Have Gone Better 00:38:44 Team Format, Gambling Rollout & Marketing Misses 00:43:59 Commentary Critique 00:47:17 Final Thoughts 💬 BEST QUOTES "if you don't have a crazy chat room on a live stream, then you're not doing it right." "for world championships, if you win the whole tournament you get $40,000 as of last year. but that's a whole tournament. here you fence one equal opponent. And when you're getting $10,000 for one match. Yeah. Those stakes are way crazier." "I think the real winner of the World Fencing League was Maia Chamberlain. Man. She pulled up. She balled out. She gets fighter of the night." World Fencing League Website: https://worldfencingleague.org/ [https://worldfencingleague.org/] 📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/worldfencingleague [https://www.instagram.com/worldfencingleague] Theme song written and performed by Colin Campbell 🔗 Connect with Colin 📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/campbelltunes/?hl=en [https://www.instagram.com/campbelltunes/?hl=en] Thank you for listening! 🔗 Connect with Us 🎧 Listen on Spotify & Apple: https://link.me/directelimination [https://link.me/directelimination] 📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/directelimination/ [https://www.instagram.com/directelimination/] 🎵 TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@directeliminationpodcast [https://www.tiktok.com/@directeliminationpodcast] 📺 Subscribe for more episodes: youtube.com/@DirectElimination [https://www.youtube.com/@DirectElimination] Prieur USA Website: https://www.prieurusa.com/ [https://www.prieurusa.com/] 📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/prieur_usa/ [https://www.instagram.com/prieur_usa/]