🇺🇸 FEINBERG COATS LIMA IN GOLD WITH MAIDEN PAN AMERICAN EPEE TITLE

LIMA, PERU — 16 JUNE 2026

USA’s world number 56 Gabriel Feinberg enjoyed a historic breakout performance on the second day of the 2026 Pan American Fencing Championships, capturing his first-ever senior individual international medal and a maiden continental title. The American épéeist displayed remarkable technical maturity in Lima, bringing an end to a highly competitive direct elimination tournament by comprehensively defeating Argentina's veteran former champion Jesús Lugones Ruggeri 15–7 in a one-sided gold medal match.

Feinberg’s golden run highlights the vast depth of the United States men’s epee program as a new generation asserts itself on the global stage.

While Lugones Ruggeri took home a proud silver medal, Canada's Dylan French and the USA's Oleg Knysh celebrated historic career milestones by sharing the bronze steps.

Path to the Podium

Gabriel Feinberg (World number 56) laid down a solid marker by winning four of his five poule matches, entering the direct elimination bracket as the number 10 seed. Following an initial opening-round bye, Feinberg shifted into high gear, routing Chile's David Nunez 15–3 and comfortably handling Canada's Samuel Rubin 15–7. His quarter-final clash against Canada's top talent, Fynn Shan, proved to be a nerve-wracking thriller, with Feinberg showing ice-cold composure to survive a 15–14 absolute cliffhanger. Feinberg then carried that immense momentum into the final four, downing his teammate Knysh 15–10 before giving Lugones Ruggeri no room to breathe in the final.

Jesús Lugones Ruggeri (World number 110) put on a vintage display of world-class epee fencing, rolling back the years to secure a phenomenal silver medal. The 2018 Pan American Champion looked entirely untouchable in the morning session, sweeping all six of his poule matches to lock down the number one overall seed for the bracket. After a first-round bye, Lugones Ruggeri dispatched Venezuela's Robert Figueroa Moreno 15–6 before surviving a 15–14 round-of-16 battle against the USA's world number 15 Samuel Imrek. Following a 15–10 win over Venezuela's Limardo and a 15–8 semi-final clinic against French, his quest for a second continental crown was ultimately halted by a relentless Feinberg.

Dylan French (World number 97) authored a beautiful chapter for Canadian fencing, securing a hard-fought bronze medal to mark the first-ever individual zonal medal of his senior international career. Seeded 13th following a 4–1 performance in the poules, French demonstrated great tactical control to eliminate Colombia's Castillo Gutierrez 15–8 and battle past the Virgin Islands' world number 33 Kruz Schembri 15–13. After cruising past Brazil's Richard Deguchi 15–8 in the quarter-finals, his historic run came to an end in the semi-finals at the hands of the top-seeded Argentine.

Oleg Knysh (World number 44) also celebrated a major career breakthrough, matching French by capturing his first-ever individual zonal medal with a gritty run to bronze. Knysh's only blemish in the poule stages was a loss to Lugones Ruggeri, but he won his other five matches to lock down the number 6 seed. The American had to dig incredibly deep in direct elimination, grinding out an 11–10 round-of-32 win over Colombia's Rodriguez before stopping El Salvador's Molina Ceron 15–8. In the quarter-finals, Knysh won another heart-stopping 15–14 nail-biter over Argentina's Alec Brooke to secure his spot on the podium alongside his training partner Feinberg.

Full results are here.