![]() |
Race Imboden | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Full name | Race Alick Reid Imboden | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Born | Tampa, Florida, United States | April 17, 1993||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Height | 1.89 m (6 ft 2 in) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Weight | 172 lb (78 kg) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Sport | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Country | United States | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Sport | Fencing | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Weapon | Foil | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Hand | left-handed | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Club | N/A | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Head coach | N/A | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
FIE ranking | N/Acurrent ranking | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Medal record
|
Race Alick Reid Imboden (born April 17, 1993) is an American left-handed former foil fencer. [1] He is a nine-time team Pan American champion, six-time individual Pan American champion, and 2019 team world champion. A three-time Olympian, Imboden is a two-time team Olympic bronze medalist. He competed in the 2012 London Olympic Games, the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympic Games, and the 2021 Tokyo Olympic Games.
In addition to his fencing career, Imboden is also a menswear fashion model.
Imboden was born in Tampa, Florida. His parents gave him his name after the Jonny Quest character Race Bannon. [2] He moved to Atlanta at a young age. His first sports were inline skating and BMX; an inline skating accident left him with a crooked nose and a scar on his lip. [3] He was playing with a toy sword in a park when a stranger suggested to his parents that he take up fencing. [4] Shortly afterwards his family moved to Park Slope, Brooklyn, New York City.
Imboden joined the Fencer's Club in Manhattan, where he first met Jed Dupree and Dan Kellner, both of whom were foil fencing Olympians at the 2004 Summer Olympics. They worked with him as a student, and Imboden made several connections. One lasting connection was that of the friendship to his long-time colleague Declan MacPherson, who Imboden notably gave an autograph to upon their first meeting. [4] Imboden was educated at the Dwight School, which supported his budding sports career. [4] His debut international competition came at age 14 when he won a bronze medal in the cadet (U17) 2010 world fencing championships. [5] After graduating high school in spring 2011 he reconsidered his earlier signed intent to immediately attend Notre Dame, and took a year to focus on his training. He became a member of the Brooklyn Bridge Fencing Club, in the DUMBO section of Brooklyn, with Dan Kellner as his coach. He finally opted for St. John's University in New York, because it was closer to his family and coach.[ citation needed ]
Imboden's other passion is hip hop. He interned at independent label Fool's Gold in 2012 and is a DJ in his spare time. [2]
Imboden and French foil fencer Ysaora Thibus met at a party after the Rio de Janeiro Olympic Games and began dating shortly afterward. The couple became engaged at the Pigalle in Paris after the Tokyo Olympic Games. [6]
Imboden joined the national cadet (U17) team in 2010 and capped the year with the Cadet National Championship title. A year later, he was an individual titlist at the Senior National Championship in Portland, Oregon, and team foil titlist at the 2011 and 2012 Pan American Fencing Championships. [5] At the age of 17, he made the senior national team for the 2011 World Championships in Catania. For his first participation to an event of this magnitude, he reached the quarter-finals after seeing off triple world titlist Peter Joppich, but lost to France's Victor Sintès.
At the beginning of the 2011–12 World Cup he stood on the World Cup podium for his bronze medal in the Challenge International de Paris. His good international results qualified him to the US national team to compete at the London 2012 Summer Olympics with the top-ranked team in the Americas zone. Seeded No. 4, he finished 9th after being eliminated in the table of 16 by Andrea Baldini of Italy. [7] In the team event, No. 5 seeded USA prevailed over France, lost to Italy (who would win the gold medal), and a loss followed in the bronze medal match with Germany.
In 2013 Imboden won the gold medal at the 2013 Copa Villa La Habana, his first World Cup title, breaking a 14-year drought of US Foil World Cup titlists. He is now one of two US men's foil fencers to have won a World Cup competition. In June of the same year he won a silver medal in the Pan American fencing Championships in Cartagena after being defeated in the final by his teammate Gerek Meinhardt. At the 2013 World Fencing Championships in Budapest Imboden was defeated in the table of 16 by Ukraine's Rostyslav Hertsyk, who later earned a bronze medal. He took part in the team event for the United States, who lost the final to Italy and took the silver medal. Imboden finished 10th in the 2012–13 FIE world rankings.
Imboden began the 2013–14 season win a silver medal finish in the 2013 World Combat Games. [8] He won his second USA Division-1 National Championship title in April 2014, defeating David Willette 15–6. [9] He placed second in the SK Trophée in Seoul and third in the Prince Takamado World Cup. The World Championships in Kazan were a disappointment as Imboden was defeated in the table of 16 by teammate Gerek Meinhardt. In the team event, No.4 seed USA lost to eventual silver medallist China in the quarter-finals and finished fifth. Imboden finished the season world No.10 for the second time in a row.
In the 2014–15 season Imboden made the quarter-finals in the San Francisco World Cup [10] and proceeded to win gold at the Prince Takamodo World Cup in Tokyo after overcoming Russia's Dmitry Rigin in the final. [11] He posted a third place in the Trofeo Inalpi in Turin, Italy. In January 2015 he achieved a double gold at the Challenge International de Paris: he became the first American to win the individual event after defeating Italy's Daniele Garozzo, [12] then earned a second gold medal in the team event after Team USA prevailed over Italy. [13] Imboden then took a bronze medal in the Havana Grand Prix. In April he won the Master de Fleuret in Melun, prevailing over Ma Jianfei in the final. [14] Two weeks later he earned the gold medal at the 2015 Pan American Championships in Santiago, his third individual Pan American title. [15] The 2015 World Championships in Moscow proved a disappointment: Imboden was defeated in the table of 16 by Olympic champion Lei Sheng. [16] In the team event, the United States lost to Italy in the quarter-finals and finished sixth after the placement rounds. Imboden did, however, ended the season World no.1, ten points ahead of newly crowned world champion Yuki Ota, thus becoming the first American male fencer to win the overall World Cup. [17]
In the 2015–16 season Imboden achieved another double-gold haul at the Paris World Cup, becoming the first fencer since Benjamin Kleibrink in 2006–2007 to win back-to-back editions. [18] Three podiums out of three World Cup competitions sealed the United States' qualification to the team event of the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, guaranteeing three American slots in the individual event. Despite a further bronze medal at the Havana Grand Prix and a no.4 world ranking, Imboden was overtaken in the US rankings and qualified to the Olympics only as an alternate for the team event. [19]
At the 2019 Pan American Games in Lima, Peru, Imboden and teammates Gerek Meinhardt and Nick Itkin won gold medals for the US men's foil team. [20]
Imboden again qualified as an alternate to represent the United States in fencing at the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo in 2021 [21] where the US team won its second consecutive bronze medal in the team foil competition.
Following the U.S. men's foil team victory at the 2019 Pan American Games in Lima, Peru, which earned Imboden and teammates Gerek Meinhardt and Nick Itkin gold medals, Imboden knelt on one knee on the medal podium as the United States national anthem played. Meinhardt and Itkin stood. [20] He stated in a post on Twitter that he had done so as a protest against racism, for gun control, mistreatment of immigrants, and the rhetoric of President Donald Trump. [22] United States Olympic & Paralympic Committee spokesperson Mark Jones criticized Imboden, as all athletes are to commit to refraining from political actions and demonstrations, stating "In this case, Race didn't adhere to the commitment he made to the organizing committee and the USOPC. We respect his rights to express his viewpoints, but we are disappointed that he chose not to honor his commitment." [20] Imboden had previously mounted a similar protest with a teammate at a World Cup event in Egypt in 2017. [22]
We must call for change. This week I am honored to represent Team USA at the Pan Am Games, taking home Gold and Bronze. My pride however has been cut short by the multiple shortcomings of the country I hold so dear to my heart. Racism, Gun Control, mistreatment of immigrants, and a president who spreads hate are at the top of a long list. I chose to sacrifie [sic: read sacrifice] my moment today at the top of the podium to call attention to issues that I believe need to be addressed. I encourage others to please use your platforms for empowerment and change.
— Race Imboden [23]
On 21 August 2019, Imboden was placed on a twelve-month probation by the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee for his protest at the Pan American Games. [24]
He began modelling for Quest Models after being scouted by an agent during the London Olympics. [3] In 2013 he made models.com's "hot list" of the most in-demand newcomers in the business. [25] In 2015 he began working with Wilhelmina Models. He left school during his first year to concentrate on his modelling and international career, as under NCAA rules he could not take part in collegiate fencing while being paid to model. [26] Imboden is currently represented by The Society Management New York. [27]
Year | Location | Event | Position |
---|---|---|---|
2016 | ![]() | Team Men's Foil | 3rd [28] |
2021 | ![]() | Team Men's Foil | 3rd [29] |
Year | Location | Event | Position |
---|---|---|---|
2013 | ![]() | Team Men's Foil | 2nd [30] |
2017 | ![]() | Team Men's Foil | 2nd [31] |
2018 | ![]() | Team Men's Foil | 2nd [32] |
2019 | ![]() | Team Men's Foil | 1st [33] |
Date | Location | Event | Position |
---|---|---|---|
2014-05-03 | ![]() | Individual Men's Foil | 3rd [34] |
2014-11-28 | ![]() | Individual Men's Foil | 3rd [35] |
2015-03-13 | ![]() | Individual Men's Foil | 3rd [36] |
2016-03-11 | ![]() | Individual Men's Foil | 3rd [37] |
2018-03-16 | ![]() | Individual Men's Foil | 1st [38] |
2018-05-19 | ![]() | Individual Men's Foil | 3rd [39] |
2019-02-08 | ![]() | Individual Men's Foil | 1st [40] |
2020-02-07 | ![]() | Individual Men's Foil | 3rd [41] |
2021-03-26 | ![]() | Individual Men's Foil | 3rd [42] |
Date | Location | Event | Position |
---|---|---|---|
2012-01-27 | ![]() | Individual Men's Foil | 3rd [43] |
2012-05-18 | ![]() | Individual Men's Foil | 3rd [44] |
2013-05-24 | ![]() | Individual Men's Foil | 1st [45] |
2014-04-25 | ![]() | Individual Men's Foil | 2nd [46] |
2014-11-07 | ![]() | Individual Men's Foil | 1st [47] |
2015-01-16 | ![]() | Individual Men's Foil | 1st [48] |
2016-01-15 | ![]() | Individual Men's Foil | 1st [49] |
2016-10-21 | ![]() | Individual Men's Foil | 1st [50] |
2017-02-10 | ![]() | Individual Men's Foil | 3rd [51] |
2017-10-20 | ![]() | Individual Men's Foil | 3rd [52] |
2019-01-11 | ![]() | Individual Men's Foil | 3rd [53] |
2019-01-25 | ![]() | Individual Men's Foil | 2nd [54] |
Year | Location | Event | Position |
---|---|---|---|
2011 | ![]() | Individual Men's Foil | 1st [55] |
2011 | ![]() | Team Men's Foil | 1st [56] |
2012 | ![]() | Individual Men's Foil | 1st [57] |
2012 | ![]() | Team Men's Foil | 1st [58] |
2013 | ![]() | Individual Men's Foil | 2nd [59] |
2013 | ![]() | Team Men's Foil | 1st [60] |
2014 | ![]() | Team Men's Foil | 1st [61] |
2015 | ![]() | Individual Men's Foil | 1st [62] |
2015 | ![]() | Team Men's Foil | 1st [63] |
2016 | ![]() | Individual Men's Foil | 3rd [64] |
2016 | ![]() | Team Men's Foil | 1st [65] |
2017 | ![]() | Individual Men's Foil | 1st [66] |
2017 | ![]() | Team Men's Foil | 1st [67] |
2018 | ![]() | Individual Men's Foil | 1st [68] |
2018 | ![]() | Team Men's Foil | 1st [69] |
2019 | ![]() | Individual Men's Foil | 1st [70] |
2019 | ![]() | Team Men's Foil | 1st [71] |
Albert "Albie" Axelrod was an American foil fencer.
Cliff Bayer is an American two-time Olympian foil fencer.
Gerek Lin Meinhardt is an American right-handed foil fencer. Meinhardt is a two-time individual NCAA champion, 12-time team Pan American champion, three-time individual Pan American champion and 2019 team world champion. A four-time Olympian, Meinhardt is a two-time team Olympic bronze medalist. Meinhardt competed in the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games, the 2012 London Olympic Games, the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympic Games, and the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games.
Richard Kruse is a former British right-handed foil fencer and four-time Olympian. In 2015, he was part of the Great Britain team that shocked Olympic champions Italy to win the first European Games gold in team foil, the first British gold medal in a team fencing event at World or European level for fifty years. He retired in 2021.
Lee Kiefer is an American right-handed foil fencer and two time Olympic champion in women's individual foil, having won the event at the 2020 and 2024 Summer Olympics.
Nicole Ross is an American foil fencer. Fencing for the Columbia Lions fencing team, she won the 2010 NCAA individual women's foil title, and was a three time All-American. At the 2012 Summer Olympics she competed in individual women's foil, coming in 25th, while in the team event she and her teammates came in sixth. At the 2018 World Championships, she and Team USA won the gold medal in the women's team foil event.
Daryl Homer is an American right-handed saber fencer, three-time Olympian, and 2016 individual Olympic silver medalist.
Guilherme Toldo is a Brazilian fencer. At the 2016 Summer Olympics he competed in the Men's foil, being defeated in the quarter-finals, obtaining the best male result in Brazil in fencing of all time.
Miles Chamley-Watson is a British-American right-handed foil fencer. He is a 13-time team Pan American champion, 2019 team world champion, 2013 individual world champion, three-time Olympian, and 2016 team Olympic bronze medalist.
Ysaora Jennifer Thibus is a French right-handed foil fencer, 2022 individual world champion, three-time Olympian, and 2020 team Olympic silver medalist.
Eli Dershwitz is an American left-handed saber fencer, five-time individual Pan American champion, two-time Olympian, and the 2023 saber World Champion.
Dmitry Vasilyevich Rigin is a Russian foil fencer, team bronze medal in the 2011 and 2014 European Fencing Championships.
Ghislain Perrier is a French foil fencer representing Brazil in international competitions. He was bronze medallist at the 2015 Pan American Games.
Edgar Cheung Ka-long is a Hong Kong left-handed foil fencer, two-time individual Asian champion, two-time Olympian, and 2021 individual Olympic champion.
Kelleigh Ryan is a Canadian Olympic fencer.
Sergey Olegovich Bida is a Russian left-handed épée fencer. He was ranked #1 in the world in 2019 and 2020. He is a three-time European épée team champion, and 2021 Olympic épée team silver medalist. He moved to the United States in June 2023, along with his wife, Olympic épée fencer Violetta Khrapina Bida. Bida is a member of USA Fencing.
The men's team foil event at the 2020 Summer Olympics took place on 1 August 2021 at the Makuhari Messe. 27 fencers from 9 nations are expected to compete.
Gustavo Alarcón is a Chilean foil fencer. He won the silver medal in the men's foil event at the 2019 Pan American Games held in Lima, Peru. In the final, he lost against Gerek Meinhardt of the United States.
Nick Itkin is an American right-handed foil fencer. Itkin is a two-time individual NCAA champion, 2024 Individual Pan American Games Gold medalist, 2023 Team Pan American Games Gold medalist, two-time individual World Championship medalist, and 2021 team Olympic bronze medalist. Itkin took foil silver at the 2023 World Fencing Championships to become the first U.S. man, and third U.S. fencer overall, to win an individual medal at back-to-back World Championships. Itkin will compete in his second Olympic Games representing the United States at the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris, France, competing in both the individual and team events.