Touché! Park Slope Neighbor And Fencer Race Imboden Takes Home The Bronze In Rio
Don’t be surprised if the local clothing stores start selling lamés. Because Park Slope may start to become a fencing outpost.
And we have Slope neighbor Race Imboden to thank, who won a fencing bronze medal at the Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro along with the U.S. Men’s Foiling Team.
Enjoying our medals at the @TeamUSA House #Rio2016 @MChamleyWatson @AMassialas @Race_Imboden pic.twitter.com/7TW3F6wNRA
— Gerek Meinhardt (@GerekMeinhardt) August 13, 2016
It wasn’t easy: they had to get past Italy, the reigning World and Olympic Champions. The U.S. Men’s team won by 45-31 on Friday, August 12.
“I AM AN OLYMPIC MEDALIST…. Better yet WE ARE OLYMPIC MEDALISTS,” 23-year-old Imboden tweeted soon after the team’s victory.
The U.S. Men’s Foil team last took home an a Olympic Bronze medal way back in 1932.
Left-handed Imboden was born in Tampa, Florida in 1993, but his parents moved up to Park Slope when he was about 11 years old. He studied at The Fencer’s Club in Manhattan. Boden met Olympic teammate Miles Chamley-Watson at the club, where they both studied together. Chamley-Watson is from Manhattan.
Imboden is currently based and trains in Los Angeles.
The Daily News reports there was some trash-talking against the the U.S. team during the competition:
‘With roughly four hours to kill between bouts, the Americans went on their phones and discovered what they called a series of ‘mean tweets’ about their performance against the Russians. [The U.S. team lost to the Russians in the semi-finals.]
Instead of bringing them down, Chamley-Watson said the criticism brought the team closer together — even joking that ‘the haters were motivators.'”
The USA Fencing team website notes that “when not competing on the world’s stage, Imboden has traveled the globe as a top runway model, walking for labels such as Marc Jacobs and Louis Vuitton.”
Curious about his wild name? His father named him after Jonny Quest character Race Bannon.
“For the first time, the U.S.A. is a powerhouse in fencing. It never has been before,” said Imboden. “For us to come together and have each other’s backs, it just proves that it’s not a fluke anymore.”