BROOKLYN, N.Y. — An Olympian has joined the LIU men's fencing team for its inaugural season.

Mohamed Elsayed, who finished eighth in epee in the Tokyo Olympics a year ago, will compete with the Sharks.

The program debuts Oct. 30 at the Temple Open in Philadelphia, joining its accomplished women's fencing counterpart.

Elsayed finished eighth in the Olympic Games last summer. He then led Team Egypt to the gold medal at the 2022 Junior World Championships in April.

"I'm so excited to begin this new journey in my career," Elsayed said. "LIU has a very good fencing team in addition to a professional coaching staff. The competition in the U.S. isn't easy, but I'm pretty sure we will have a strong, successful journey together and bring many titles back to Brooklyn." 
 
Elsayed, who hopes to return to the Olympics in 2024 in Paris, was ranked No. 1 in the world earlier this year. He currently resides at No. 4.

"We are beyond thrilled to have such a brilliant and accomplished fencer join our family," LIU head coach Ivan Lee said. "Mohamed is a winner. He's a competitor. He's a fighter. He is exactly what we need to help jumpstart our new men's program. We are convinced that he will help us build a culture of hard work, success on and off the fencing piste and, of course, winning." 

Said assistant coach Dwight Smith, an Olympic alternate for Team USA in Tokyo: "Mohamed is going to be a problem for a lot of schools. I don't think they are ready for what this team is going to do over the next few years. I can't wait to get this season started."