Edward Korfanty (born 1952) is a Polish-born American fencing master, U.S. National Women's saber coach, Olympic saber coach, [1] and a former Men's Veterans Saber World Champion.
Korfanty was a member of the Polish national fencing team from 1972 to 1984. During his eight years on the Polish national team, he won numerous national and international medals and was a finalist at numerous World Cup and international competitions. He took second place individual three times in the Polish national championships and was team captain of the winning team four times. He was an alternate for one of the Olympic Games, but did not fence.
He became head coach at the Polish Olympic Center in Katowice in 1984. Korfanty moved to the University of Notre Dame in the U.S. in 1990 as assistant fencing coach, and also[ vague ] coached at the Indiana Fencing Academy until 1993. During his tenure at Notre Dame, he coached Canadian fencer Leszek Nowosielski (who was attending Notre Dame) to represent Canada at the 1992 Olympic Games in Barcelona, Spain.
He was appointed the US National Women's saber coach, and coached the first US Women's team (Mariel Zagunis, Christine Becker, Nicole Mustilli, and Sada Jacobson) to win the world championship in 2000. Under Korfanty's direction in 2005, the US women's saber team (Zagunis, Jacobson, Caitlin Thompson, and Rebecca Ward) won the gold medal at the world championships for the second time.
Ed Korfanty is also coach to Mariel Zagunis, [2] who won the gold medal in the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens - the first American to win fencing gold in 100 years. In October 2003, as a member of the FIE ad hoc committee on saber fencing, Korfanty spearheaded the change with the International Fencing Federation (FIE) in the timing in which the lights for recording a touch fired. The change shortened the time in which the second light could fire (close out time) from 300 milliseconds to 120 milliseconds, 180 milliseconds faster than the previous rule. The change was implemented in October 2004, immediately following the Athens Olympics. Other notable students include Olympian Seth Kelsey, Christine Becker, Sara Borrmann (2008 NCAA Women's Saber Champion), Valerie Providenza (2004 NCAA Women's Saber Champion), Patrick Ghattas, Ian Farr, Caity Thompson, William Thanhouser, Lian Osier, and Diamond Wheeler.
In 2005 Korfanty's students made up 75% of the U.S. Div. 1 National Women's Saber Team (consisting of Zagunis, Ward, and Thompson - fourth team member Sada Jacobson is from another club). In 2006, student Rebecca Ward became the only fencer in history to win three World Cup titles in one season.
Korfanty continues to compete internationally as a member of the U.S. National Veterans team, and has been the 50-60 age group Men's Saber World Champion three times (2002, 2003 and 2006). In 2004 and 2005 he won the silver medals at the Veterans World Championships.
Korfanty was named the U.S. Olympic Committee's Coach of the Year in 2001, 2003, and 2004. In 2005, the U.S. Fencing Coaches Association presented Korfanty with the 2005 Outstanding Coach of the Year award for his outstanding results at the international level.
Korfanty formerly resided in Portland, Oregon, acting as the head coach of the Oregon Fencing Alliance and the U.S. Women's National Saber Training Center. He currently resides in Laguna Hills, California, working as a coach at the Laguna Fencing Center.
Ed Korfanty earned his fencing master diploma at the Academy of Physical Education in Katowice, Poland, under the tutelage of Zbigniew Czajkowski. He is also certified as a fencing master by the U.S. Fencing Coaches Association and the Academie d'Armes Internationale.
Sada Molly Jacobson is an American Olympic fencer. She is the 2008 Olympic Individual Sabre silver medalist in women's sabre, the 2004 Olympic Individual Sabre bronze medalist in women's sabre, and the 2003 Pan American Games champion in women's sabre. In 2016, she was inducted into the United States Fencing Hall of Fame.
The Notre Dame Fighting Irish are the athletic teams that represent the University of Notre Dame. The Fighting Irish participate in 26 National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I intercollegiate sports and in the NCAA's Division I in all sports, with many teams competing in the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC). Notre Dame is one of only 16 universities in the United States that play Division I FBS football and Division I men's ice hockey. The school colors are gold and blue and the mascot is the Leprechaun. It was founded on November 23, 1887, with football in Notre Dame, Indiana.
Mariel Leigh Zagunis is an American sabre fencer. She is a two-time Olympic champion in the individual sabre and the first American woman to win a gold medal in fencing at the Olympics. She was Team USA flag bearer in the 2012 Summer Olympics Parade of Nations. She has two Olympic bronze team medals and is a five-time Olympian.
Zbigniew Czajkowski was a Polish fencing coach. Czajkowski was dubbed "Father of the Polish School" of fencing. He coached many champions, including Egon Franke - the first Pole to earn an Olympic gold medal in fencing.
Rebecca Ward is an American sabre fencer. She won the gold medal at the sabre 2006 World Fencing Championships after beating Mariel Zagunis 15–11 in the final, and took bronze in both individual and team sabre events at the 2008 Beijing Olympics. She also won the women's NCAA national individual sabre championship three times, the first in history to do so in sabre. In 2015, she was inducted into the USA Fencing Hall of Fame.
Emily Phillipa Jacobson is an American Olympic sabre fencer. She won a bronze medal in the 2003 Pan American Games, and was 2004 Junior World Champion in women's saber.
Cătălina Gheorghițoaia is a Romanian sabre fencer, team silver medallist in the 2001 World Fencing Championships. She competed at the 2004 Summer Olympics, placing fourth after being defeated by Mariel Zagunis, then Sada Jacobson.
Kim Ji-yeon is a South Korean left-handed sabre fencer.
The Harvard Crimson fencing team is the intercollegiate fencing team for Harvard University located in Cambridge, Massachusetts. The team competes in the Ivy League within the NCAA Division I. The university first fielded a team in 1888.
Azza Besbes is a Tunisian sabre fencer, five-time African champion. She took part in the 2008, 2012 and 2016 Summer Olympics, finishing 7th, 9th and 5th respectively.
Zhu Min is a Chinese sabre fencer. She won a gold medal, as a member of the host nation's fencing team, in the same weapon at the 2010 Asian Games in Guangzhou. Zhu is also a member of the Nanjing Province Fencing Team, and is coached and trained by Christian Bauer of France.
Seira Nakayama is a Japanese sabre fencer. Nakayama is also a member of the fencing team for Ogaki Kyoritsu Bank Sporting Club in Gifu, and is coached and trained by two-time Olympian Volodymyr Lukashenko of Ukraine.
Eli Dershwitz is an American left-handed saber fencer, five-time individual Pan American champion, two-time Olympian, and the 2023 saber World Champion.
Anne-Elizabeth Stone, commonly known as Eliza Stone, is an American sabre fencer. Her results include an individual bronze medal at the 2018 World Fencing Championships and a team gold medal in the 2014 World Championships.
María Paola Pliego Lara, known as Paola Pliego, is a Mexican-born naturalized Uzbekistani sabre fencer, bronze medallist at the 2015 Pan American Fencing Championships. Citing corruption of the Mexican Olympic Committee as the main reason, she competed under the flag of Uzbekistan at the 2019 Fencing World Cup.
Notre Dame Fighting Irish fencing represents the University of Notre Dame in collegiate fencing. The Irish compete in the Atlantic Coast Conference of NCAA Division I.
Catherine Zagunis is an American rower. She competed in the women's coxed four event at the 1976 Summer Olympics during the first appearance of the event in the Olympic Games.
The Ukrainian Fencing Federation commonly known by the acronym NFFU, established in 1992, is the governing body of Ukrainian fencing. Through 2022, Ukrainian fencers won 230 medals combined in the Olympic Games, World championships, and European championships.