🇺🇸 WILLIAM MORRILL UPSETS HEATHCOCK TO CLAIM MAIDEN PAN AMERICAN SABRE TITLE

LIMA, PERU — 15 JUNE 2026

USA’s world number 12 William Morrill put on a clinical display of tactical execution to capture his first-ever individual Pan American title on the opening day of the 2026 Pan American Fencing Championships. Morrill, who took home the continental silver medal last year, went one step higher on the podium in Lima by dominating his top-seeded teammate and defending champion Colin Heathcock 15–9 in an all-American gold medal final.

The victory marks Morrill's second major title of an exceptional breakout season, adding to his gold medal performance from the Budapest World Cup in March.

While Heathcock secured the silver, the bronze medals were shared by the USA's rising talent Darii Lukashenko and Venezuela's seasoned competitor Eliecer Romero.

Path to the Podium

William Morrill (World number 12) looked in championship form from his very first phrase, sweeping all six of his poule fights to secure the number three seed for the direct elimination stage. Following a first-round bye, the young American left his opponents with no room to breathe, cruising past Colombia’s Sebastian Gonzalez Gonzalez 15–5 and Brazil’s Bruno Pekelman 15–4. After maintaining his rhythm to eliminate Venezuela's Jose Quintero 15–9 in the quarter-finals, Morrill dismantled his teammate Lukashenko 15–6 in the semi-finals before out-pacing Heathcock to seal the gold.

Colin Heathcock (World number 4) fell just short of retaining his continental crown but still added another prestigious silver medal to a blistering season that already includes gold at the Algiers World Cup and silver at the Cairo World Cup. Heathcock claimed the top seed in the bracket after a perfect 6–0 poule performance and systematically routed the early direct elimination field, dealing matching 15–4 defeats to Peru's Lukas Eichhorn and Brazil's Henrique Wolff. Following a 15–9 quarter-final win over Puerto Rico's Hudson Figueredo Suliveres, Heathcock executed an absolute 15–2 semi-final demolition of Romero before hitting a wall against Morrill.

Darii Lukashenko (World number 71) engineered the ultimate breakthrough performance of the day to capture his first-ever senior individual international podium. Lukashenko's sheer dominance in the poule stages earned him a perfect 5–0 record and the number two overall seed. The American capitalized beautifully on his favorable placement, crushing the Dominican Republic’s Jose Alfau Larancuente 15–6, Puerto Rico’s Dylan Woodward 15–7, and Argentina's veteran Pascual Di Tella 15–5, safely securing a historic bronze before falling to the eventual champion.

Eliecer Romero (World number 51) relied on veteran poise to secure the second Pan American individual bronze medal of his career, repeating his podium success from the 2023 edition of the tournament. The Venezuelan star locked down the 4th seed with a clean 5–0 sweep in the poules before navigating a tough South American gauntlet in direct elimination. Romero stayed patient to defeat Brazil's Murilo Garrigos 15–10, Chile's Manuel Bahamonde 15–10 and Argentina's Ramiro Bacha 15–8, ensuring Venezuela a proud spot on an otherwise American-dominated podium.

Full results are here.