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FERJANI Fares
NOC Tunisia   
GenderMen
Born 22 Jul 1997 in Tunis, TUN
Height1.75 m
Human Interest
General Interest
Hero / Idol Italian fencer Aldo Montano. (olympic.org, 19 Oct 2020)
Injuries He withdrew from his final match at the 2022 North American Cup event in Minneapolis, MN, United States of America, due to a back injury. (Facebook page, 10 Oct 2022; usafencing.org, 09 Oct 2022)
Further Personal Information
Residence New York, NY, USA
General Interest
Famous relatives His older brother Mohamed Ayoub Ferjani has represented Tunisia in fencing and competed in individual foil at the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro and the 2021 Grand Prix event in Doha, Qatar. His younger brother Ahmed has represented Tunisia, competing in sabre disciplines at the 2022 World Cup event in Tbilisi, Georgia, and has also competed at collegiate level in the United States of America for St. John's University. His father Salah has served as a fencing referee at international level, while his mother, uncle, and cousin have all competed in the sport at an elite level. (SportsDeskOnline, 01 Apr 2022; redstormsports.com, 27 Mar 2022; Ahmed Ferjani Instagram profile, 14 Mar 2022; FIE YouTube channel, 18 Nov 2019; china.org.cn, 14 Aug 2014; eurofencing.info, 03 Apr 2013)
Sport Specific Information
Why this sport? "Why do I like fencing? All my family is in fencing. It's like water to me."
Handedness Right
Further Personal Information
Languages Arabic, English, French
Occupation Athlete
General Interest
Sporting philosophy / motto "Our dreams can come true if we have the courage to pursue them." (Facebook profile, 14 Jun 2017)
Sport Specific Information
Club / Team Manhattan Fencing Center: United States
General Interest
Awards and honours He won the Excalibur Award at the 2023 St. John's University Athletic Awards in New York, NY, United States of America. (St. John's Fencing Instagram profile, 02 May 2023)

He received the 2019 Giorgio Santelli award for fencing from St. John's University in the United States of America. (Instagram profile, 07 May 2019)
Other information RIO OLYMPIC EXPERIENCE
Two years after placing fourth in individual sabre at the 2014 Youth Olympic Games [YOG] in Nanjing, People's Republic of China, he made his senior Olympic debut at the 2016 Games in Rio de Janeiro. "I met a lot of amazing people [in Nanjing] and made some friends that I'm still speaking with to this day [talking in 2020]. I remember being invited to a breakfast with some other YOG athletes and IOC president [and German fencer] Thomas Bach, when he told me something very nice. He said, 'You have talent, and I think you have a nice future.' That was interesting for me. I think any small words from any big champion can help a young athlete. If you say one or two nice words to them, it can change their lives. The 2016 Olympic Games were very fun for me. I fenced against a role model of mine, Aldo Montano, and I was very proud of myself that I showed some qualities. I was young and I really didn't know what I was doing. I had no great technique and I was just enjoying myself." (olympic.org, 19 Oct 2020)

STUDYING IN THE US
In 2020 he began studying for a master's degree in international business at St. John's University in New York, NY, United States of America. Three years earlier he started a bachelor's in finance at the same university and began training with coach Yury Gelman. "After the 2016 Olympic Games I spoke with Yury Gelman, and then I moved to New York. I started studying at St. John's, and then it was a big difference. The practice was different. These guys do a lot of footwork. Everything counts, each detail counts. I think for me, it's just great that I moved there because I've jumped to another level." (LinkedIn profile, 08 Sep 2020; FIE YouTube channel, 18 Nov 2019)

OTHER ACTIVITIES
He is a USA Fencing certified referee. (member.usafencing.org, 12 Mar 2019)
Further Personal Information
Higher education Finance - St. John's University: New York, NY, USA

Major Results
Year Rank Event Venue
World Championships
2018 8 Individual Sabre Wuxi, China
African Championships
2023 2 Team Sabre Cairo, Egypt
2023 6 Individual Sabre Cairo, Egypt
2022 1 Individual Sabre Casablanca, Morocco
2022 1 Team Sabre Casablanca, Morocco
2019 2 Individual Sabre Bamako, Mali
2019 2 Team Sabre Bamako, Mali
2018 1 Individual Sabre Tunis, Tunisia
2018 2 Team Sabre Tunis, Tunisia
2017 1 Individual Sabre Alexandria, Egypt
2017 1 Team Sabre Alexandria, Egypt
2016 2 Individual Sabre Algiers, Algeria
2015 2 Team Sabre Cairo, Egypt
2015 3 Individual Sabre Cairo, Egypt