Competing in the USA Fencing National Championships/ North American Cup in Columbus, Ohio, in late June, Jonah Shainberg brought home a bronze medal in the Division 1 Men’s saber competition, tying for third place in a field of 165.
Competing in the USA Fencing National Championships/ North American Cup in Columbus, Ohio, in late June, Jonah Shainberg brought home a bronze medal in the Division 1 Men’s saber competition, tying for third place in a field of 165. Only fencers who possess the highest national ratings are eligible to compete in Division 1. The Rye 18-year-old also won a silver medal in the Junior Men’s sabre competition, a field of 265 NCAA and high school fencers under age 19.
The North American Cup is the first of the 2014-2015 competitive fencing season. Shainberg is currently ranked third in the USA Fencing national rankings for male sabre fencers under age 19. As a top-ten ranked fencer in the US, he qualified for and competed in Junior and Senior World Cups in Germany, Poland, Greece, Italy, Spain, Chicago, and Phoenix, and North American Cups in Dallas, Minneapolis, Virginia Beach, and Cleveland during the 2013-2014 season. At the Junior Olympics in Portland, Oregon, in February, he placed fifth.
Shainberg, a member of the National Honor Society, graduated from Rye High School last month. He is headed to the University of Notre Dame. He signed a National Letter of Intent last fall and received an athletic scholarship to fence for the varsity men’s sabre team. He trains at the Fencer’s Club of New York with Archil Lortkipanidze, his coach of nearly ten years.