Soren Thompson
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Medal record | |||
|---|---|---|---|
Competitor for  United States |
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| Maccabiah Games | |||
| Silver | 2005 Israel | Team Epee | |
Soren Thompson (born May 5, 1981) is an American right-handed epee fencer.
Thompson attended Torrey Pines High School ('99) and Princeton University ('05; Art & Architecture).
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[edit] Fencing career
Thompson started fencing in a recreational class at the University of California San Diego when he was 7 years old. At age 12 he began commuting over two hours to train in Los Angeles. He eventually rose to become the highest-ranked junior in the United States. Thompson has traveled to over 25 countries for fencing competitions and training.
He has fenced at the New York Athletic Club, and his coaches have included Gago Demirchian, Yefim Litvan, Michel Sebastiani, and Michael D'Asaro Sr.
[edit] NCAA Championships
Fencing at Princeton under Maitre Michel Sebastiani,[1] Thompson was 2001 NCAA Epee Champion, 2nd in 2002,[2] and 3rd in 2005.[3]
In 2005 Princeton awarded him the William Winston Roper Trophy.[4]
[edit] Junior National Championships
Thompson won the Junior National Championship in epee three times.
[edit] Senior North American Cup
He is a senior NAC champion.[5]
[edit] World Cup
Thompson came in 2nd at the 2004 Buenos Aires Senior Epee World Cup.[6]
[edit] World Championships
He won the Bronze Medal in the 1999 World Junior Team Championships.
Thompson took 8th in the 2003 World Championships (where he reached the quarterfinals), defeating top seed Ivan Kovacs of Hungary (15-14).[7]
In 2004 Thompson made it as far as the Round of 16 in a field of 171 competitors.[8]
In 2006 he came in 26th in the World Championships in epee.[9]
[edit] Junior Olympics
He is a Junior Olympic Champion.[10]
[edit] Olympics
Thompson fenced for the US in the 2004 Olympics, taking 7th place in the individual competition and 5th place in the team competition. Along the way, in the Round of 16, he defeated Alfredo Rota of Italy, the No. 1 ranked epée fencer in the world, 15-13.[11] He then lost 15-11 to the 2000 Olympic gold medallist Pavel Kolobkov of Russia.[12] He became the first American to reach the men’s epee quarterfinals in nearly 50 years.[13]
[edit] Pan American Games
Thompson was also a member of the 4th-placed men’s epee team at the 2003 Pan American Games, and an alternate to the gold-medal men’s foil team.
[edit] Maccabiah Games
Thompson, who is Jewish, won a team silver medal at the 2005 17th Maccabiah Games.[14]
[edit] Approach to fencing
Thompson's style combines the influences of a half-dozen coaches. Thompson likes to take in an eclectic mix of suggestions and figure out which strategy works best against each opponent. “You’re matching everything you have against everything they have and looking to find a solution,” he says. “It’s very cerebral.”[15]
[edit] Miscellaneous
- Thompson is a resident of San Diego, California.
