Monica Aksamit facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Monica Aksamit |
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Aksamit in 2015
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| Personal information | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Born | February 18, 1990 New York City, New York |
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| Nationality | American | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 1.83 m (6 ft 0 in) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Weight | 77 kg (170 lb) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Sport | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Country |  United States |
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| Sport | Fencing | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Weapon | saber | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Hand | right-handed | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Club | Manhattan Fencing Center | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Head coach | Yury Gelman | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| FIE ranking | current ranking | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Medal record
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Monica Aksamit (born February 18, 1990) is an American former Olympic saber fencer. She competed for the United States at the 2016 Summer Olympics. There, she won a bronze medal in the Women's Saber Team competition. She also earned a gold medal with Team USA at the 2019 Pan American Games. In 2022, she appeared on the Fox reality TV show, Joe Millionaire: For Richer or Poorer.
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About Monica Aksamit
Monica Aksamit was born in New York City. She lived in Matawan, New Jersey and Morganville, New Jersey for many years. Since 2020, she has lived in Brooklyn, New York. Her parents came to the United States from Poland. They separated when she was nine years old. Her mother then raised her. Monica also has a half-sister named Olivia. Most of her family still lives in Poland. When she was very young, she lived in Poland with her grandparents. She even went to pre-school there.
She returned to the United States for kindergarten. Monica went to public elementary and middle schools in Matawan. Later, she attended Matawan Regional High School. After high school, Aksamit went to Pennsylvania State University. She received a full scholarship for fencing. She studied kinesiology, which is the study of body movement. She later returned to finish her degree. Monica has also taught fencing at Brookdale Community College. She teaches fencing at St. John Vianney High School in Holmdel, New Jersey.
Monica's Fencing Journey
Starting Fencing
Monica Aksamit began fencing when she was nine years old. She started at the Polish-American Fencing School in Linden, New Jersey. Her first coach was Janusz Mlynek. He coached her in Polish. Monica once said that when she started, they gave her a sword and told her to hit the other kid. When she did, everyone cheered. She thought it was a great time!
Since she was 15, her fencing club has been the Manhattan Fencing Center. It is located in Midtown Manhattan. Her coach there is Yury Gelman. She has worked with him since joining the club.
College Fencing Success
While fencing for the Penn State Nittany Lions, Monica was very successful. She helped her team win two NCAA Team Championships. In 2012, she was the runner-up NCAA Champion in women's saber. She was also named an All-American three times.
International Fencing Competitions
Monica Aksamit started representing the United States in international events. She fenced for the United States Fencing Association. In 2008, at age 18, she won a team silver medal. This was at the Junior World Fencing Championships in Acireale, Italy. In the 2008-09 season, she was ranked 12th in the world among junior fencers. She was also 16th in the world among senior fencers.
In 2009, she won two medals at the Pan American Fencing Championships. She earned a team gold medal and an individual bronze medal in San Salvador, El Salvador. In 2012, she had knee surgery after competing in the NCAA finals. She later helped Team USA win another team gold medal. This was at the 2016 Pan American Fencing Championships in Panama City, Panama.
Monica Aksamit was a reserve member of Team USA at the 2016 Summer Olympics. She won a bronze medal for the United States at the 2016 Summer Olympics. This was in the Women's Saber Team competition. The event took place in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. She was brought into the bronze medal match against Italy. Before the Olympics, she had a back injury while training. She had to wear a back brace to compete.
The next year, Monica won a silver medal with Team USA. This was at the 2017 Pan American Fencing Championships in Montreal, Canada. Two years later, she won another gold medal with Team USA. This time, it was at the 2019 Pan American Games in Lima, Peru. In 2019, she was training hard to qualify for the Olympics again. To help with expenses, she lived with her mother in New Jersey. She also worked several jobs between training sessions. She started a GoFundMe campaign to cover her travel and training costs. She raised over $30,000. The United States Olympic Committee also gave her a small monthly payment. She just barely missed qualifying for the Tokyo Olympic Games.
Life Beyond Fencing
In 2022, Monica Aksamit was a contestant on a TV show. It was Fox’s Joe Millionaire: For Richer or Poorer. This reality television series features 18 women. They compete for two bachelors, one of whom is secretly a millionaire. Monica thought about whether to join the show. She decided that since finding love hadn't worked out for her, she would try it.
Also in 2022, she signed with Ford Models. She had 100,000 followers on Instagram.
See also
- List of Olympic women medalists in fencing
- List of Pennsylvania State University Olympians
