Miles Chamley-Watson
| Miles Chamley-Watson | ||||||||||||||||||||
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 Chamley-Watson at the 2013 Paris World Cup | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Personal information | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Full name | Miles Cleveland Chamley-Watson | |||||||||||||||||||
| Country represented | United States | |||||||||||||||||||
| Born |
December 3, 1989 London, United Kingdom | |||||||||||||||||||
| Residence | Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States | |||||||||||||||||||
| Weapon(s) | Foil | |||||||||||||||||||
| Hand | right-handed | |||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 6 feet 4 inches (1.93 m) | |||||||||||||||||||
| Weight | 185 pounds (84 kg) | |||||||||||||||||||
| Club | Penn State University | |||||||||||||||||||
| FIE Ranking | current raking | |||||||||||||||||||
Medal record
Miles Chamley-Watson is a British-born American fencer.[1] At the 2012 Summer Olympics he competed in the Men's foil, but was defeated in the second round. He is the 2013 Individual Foil World Champion.[2] ChildhoodMiles Chamley-Watson was born in London on December 3, 1989. He spent the first 8 years of his life as a resident of the UK until he and his family moved to the United States. Upon arriving to the US, Miles and his family settled in New York City. One year later, in search of a hobby to occupy him self, Miles showed a liking to the sport of fencing.[citation needed] Shortly after his initial participation in the sport, he began to realize his talents and started to focus more and more on sharpening his skills.[citation needed] After spending 4 years in New York City, 12-year-old Miles and his family settled in Philadelphia. Miles' passion for the sport of fencing grew stronger and stronger as he aged. He took his natural talent and motivation for the sport to the next level where he fenced for the Delaware Valley Friends Fencing Club. During Miles' years as a student-athlete at the Knox High School, he had captured the attention of college recruiters across the nation. However, he had his sights set on attending the Pennsylvania State University.[citation needed] CollegeChamley-Watson's talent, hard-work, and dedication to academics and the sport of fencing landed him a full scholarship to the Pennsylvania State University in the year 2008. As a full-time student, Miles excelled in both academics and athletics. During his tenure at Penn State Miles majored in Sports Management where he transferred what he had learned and what he was continuing to learn from the sport of fencing to help boost his knowledge in his area of study. Division I AthletePennsylvania State University has produced some of the greatest NCAA fencers of all-time, and Miles was on a mission to be named among that list. Freshman Year (2008–2009)During Miles' freshman year as a division I NCAA fencer he managed to stack a 19–4 record and was one of the top fencers moving into the national tournament. He advanced to the Semi-finals round in the national championship tournament in the men's foil category. However, Miles was defeated in the semi-finals 15 to 14 by team mate Nicholas Chinman. The Nittany Lions Fencing team ended the tournament on top as the 2008–2009 National Team Champions. Sophomore Year (2009–2010)Miles was ready to continue his mission after a tough freshman year of getting used to the collegiate atmosphere of fencing. He had made himself a standout among the top fencers in the NCAA tournament for the second year in a row. Much like his freshman year, Miles had battled his way to the semi-final round of the championships. This time Miles fell short of the win to Notre Dames top ranked Olympic fencer Gerek Meinhardt. The team continued their fight to end on top and managed to defend their national title. Junior Year (2010–2011)Chamley-Watson found himself faced with a decision while nearing the end of his collegiate career. Miles had the choice to redshirt his junior year of college or choose to compete and redshirt his senior year. With this tough decision in mind, Miles decided to compete in the NCAA Championships his junior year and redshirt his senior year. For the third year in a row Miles made himself a top ranking fencer moving into the NCAA tournament in Columbus Ohio. Making it to the semi-final round was not unfamiliar, however, this year Miles reached the championship round of men's foil. His search for his first individual championship title was halted by highly ranked DeSmet of the Fighting Irish. Penn State ended the tournament in 2nd place just 6 points shy of Notre Dame who clenched the title of 2011 NCAA team champions. Senior Year (2011–2012)After a solid men's foil 2nd place finish in the NCAA tournament Miles decided that it was time to utilize his alotted redshirt year. During this hiatus from NCAA competition miles was able to take the time to hone his natural talents and further improve his knowledge and skills in the sport of fencing. Miles set his sights on the larger goal of representing the United State of America fencing foil in the 2012 Olympic games. First on Miles' "redshirt year: to-do list" was finding the right coach that would most effectively and effieciently help him and push him along his Olympic bound journey. He linked with Simon Gershon from New York City. Gershon was a key asset to the end result of Miles' goal of fencing in the 2012 Olympic games. After months of 2 and sometimes 3 a day training sessions Miles' hardwork had paid off and he had earned himself the top spot on the United States of America's Olympic Fencing team as a foil fencer. Olympic careerThe 2012 Olympic games were very important to Miles Chamley-Watson for two significant reasons. One, Miles had been training his whole life to obtain this goal, and secondly, the 2012 Olympic games were held in London; Miles' place of birth was London. Miles entered the Olympic games as the #2 ranked foil fencer. His first round in the games he was presented a bye into the next round. In the second round Miles was set to fence Abouellkassem an opponent representing the country of Egypt, and was defeated 15 – 10. Future Olympic PlansMiles continues to train everyday and is currently working on mastering the sport of fencing at the Fencers Club in New York City to aid him in his journey to the 2016 Olympic Games to be held in Rio de Janeiro. Awards and Accomplishments2013
2012
2011
2010
2009
2008
2007
See alsoReferences
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