MILAN, Italy – Harvard Fencing assistant coach and former two-time national champion Eli Dershwitz '19 captured gold in men's saber at the 2023 Fencing World Championships in Italy on Tuesday. With the victory, Dershwitz became Team USA's first senior world champion in an event that has been a part of Senior Worlds since 1922.
 
"Honestly, it feels surreal," Dershwitz said to USAFencing.org. "It doesn't feel like it really happened. Hopefully, either tomorrow or the day after when someone asks me, I'll have thought a little bit better on how to phrase my thoughts. But for now, I'm just thankful for everyone that helped me get here."
 
A native of Sherborn, Massachusetts, Dershwitz defeated three opponents who were ranked Nos. 1, 2 and 3 in the world, including reigning world champion and three-time Olympic champion Aaron Szilagyi. Dershwitz found himself trailing Szilagyi, 10-4, in the semifinal before rallying for the 15-13 victory.
 
On the way to his head-to-head clash with Szilagyi (Hungary), Dershwitz dispatched Korea's Bongil Gu (two-time Olympic gold medalist) in the round of 32, World No. 3 and three-time Olympic medalist Luigi Samele of Italy in the round of 16, and 2019 Team World Champion Hansol Ha (Korea) in the quarterfinals. After advancing past the semis, Dershwitz defeated World No. 1 and reigning European champion Sandro Bazadze of Georgia.
 
Dershwitz now joins Miles Chamley-Watson, who won the men's foil world championship in 2013, as the only U.S. men with Senior World titles in the history of fencing.
 
This is Dershwitz's second medal at the Senior World Championships. He won a silver in 2018 in Wuxi, China, falling in the finals to Korea's Kim Jung-hwan. He also won three individual medals at Junior Worlds, including a Junior World Championship in 2015, becoming the first American man to accomplish that feat.