OTTAWA – The Canadian Fencing Federation in partnership with the Canadian Olympic Committee, announced today the three athletes nominated to represent Canada at the Youth Olympic Games (YOG) Buenos Aires 2018. The Games will take place in the Argentine capital from Oct. 6 to Oct. 18 and will be the first Olympic event to feature the same number of male and female athletes.

The Canadian fencing team will feature Jane Caulfield from Edmonton, Alberta who will compete in Women’s Foil, Arianne Leonard from Saint-Lambert, Quebec who will compete in Women’s Epee and Seraphim Jarov from Surrey, B.C. who will complete in Men’s Epee. The three athletes qualified for nomination to the Youth Olympic Games at the 2018 Cadet World Championships which took place in April in Verona, Italy.  All fencing competitions will take place at Africa Pavilion located inside Youth Olympic Park, from Oct. 7 to Oct. 10.

“While our young fencers are experienced world travellers who compete in fencing competitions around the world, the Youth Olympic Games offer a unique opportunity for our athletes to gain exposure on the world stage and learn how to adapt to the very complex and challenging environment of an international multi-sport event,” said head coach Paul ApSimon, National Program Coach for Women’s Foil.

“Our focus will be to help the athletes learn, grow and to develop the tools they will need in the future to perform at a major Games,” noted Dominique Teisseire, who is Arianne Leonard’s club coach and will be a Team Coach at these Games.

Should a Canadian fencer land on the podium in Buenos Aires, it will mark the fourth YOG medal in fencing for Canada. Alexandre Lyssov won a bronze medal in Men’s Epee at the 2010 Youth Olympic Games in Singapore.  Lyssov, along with Canadian women’s foil athlete Alanna Goldie, also won bronze in the Americas mixed team event in Singapore.

The athletes and coaches nominated to the Buenos Aires 2018 team include:

Athletes

Coaching Staff

About the Summer Youth Olympic Games
The YOG bring together talented young athletes aged 15 to 18 from more than 200 countries around the world. An event distinct from other youth sports events, the YOG also integrate a unique Culture and Education Programme based around five main themes: Olympism, social responsibly, skills development, expression and well-being and healthy lifestyles. Buenos Aires 2018, the third summer YOG, will feature nearly 4,000 athletes in 241 events across 32 sports in 36 disciplines.

For more information on Buenos Aires 2018, visit www.buenosaires2018.com or www.olympic.org/buenos-aires-2018.

Key links:

• Buenos Aires 2018
• Competition schedule
• Fencing

For more information, please contact:

Caroline Sharp, Canadian Fencing Federation
[email protected]

Joshua Su, Canadian Olympic Committee
[email protected]

Photi Sotiropoulos, Canadian Olympic Committee
[email protected]

– 30 –