29 November 2022
Eislingen, Germany — Hannah Lee and Jason Bae, both 15, returned home from the past weekend’s Allstar-Cup in Eislingen, Germany, a fencing World Cup for cadet aged fencers, athletes between the ages of 13 and 16, with a haul of medals; they earned a bronze, silver, and gold medal collectively.
The tournament is part of a series of international events for cadet fencers which culminate in the International Fencing Fenderation’s (FIE) Cadet World Championships in April. Up to four athletes per country will qualify for the World Championships, and Lee and Bae were among 20 American athletes in women’s and men’s sabre, respectively, vying for a spot on the team. In individual competition, Lee took home the bronze medal, besting opponents from Romania, Italy, Great Britain, and Poland on her way to the podium. Bae finished 14th in the men’s event. Each athlete also competed in the team event, and Bae’s team came out on top in a field of 31 teams from 12 nations. Bae was strong throughout the day, outsourcing many of his opponents as a key contributor to the gold medal effort. Lee’s team advanced to the final where they were ultimately defeated by a team of fellow Americans, earning Lee a silver medal as her second medal of the weekend.
This season is the first for both Bae and Lee on the international circuit. Their appearance in Eislingen comes just a week after their first World Cup in Sofia, Bulgaria. Lee finished 8th in individual competition. “I enjoyed eating different foods and exploring…with my friends,” says Lee, of spending the week between competitions in Europe. As far as the fencing, Lee and Bae both expressed that they entered the competitions with low expectations, considering these would be their first experiences fencing abroad. Nonetheless, they were prepared for what lay ahead; Bae says, “Even though it was my first International tournament, I tried to keep my nerves down by trusting my training to win each of my bouts.”
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