By, Rani B. ’21

You may not know that Emily Vermeule, a Winsor junior you have seen in the hallway, has traveled around the world to fence at the Junior Olympics and World Championships, and medaled! A junior Olympian at Winsor is an amazing feat to accomplish, one that Emily said when she started fencing [at age 10 she] really enjoyed the sport, and while [she] always dreamed of achieving certain goals, [she] never truly believed [she] would ever qualify for World Championships, let alone Youth Olympics.”

The World Championships took place in Verona Italy, in April 2018, and to qualify for them, Emily had to be in the top three of women’s epee (a type of fencing) in the U17 age group in the United States. To do this, she had to gather points by competing and winning in World Cups, six in Europe and eight in North America, and she then qualified by placing third in the US. Emily then went on to place 2nd at World Champs, earned the silver medal, and placed first out the United States team. Her placement qualified her for the Youth Olympics, in Argentina.

Emily said that her favorite experience at the World Championships was “definitely getting the silver medal and having the opportunity to fence in the semifinals and finals with such strong fencers.” On the Championships, she said, “I was even surprised that I qualified for the World Championship team, I certainly never expected to medal, so that experience was really incredible.” She added that her favorite experience from the Youth Olympics was “meeting an amazing group of young athletes.” She then elaborated by saying, “Over the two weeks I spent in Argentina, I became very close to a variety of incredible people. It was truly a unique experience to meet so make so many friends who have dedicated so much to their individual sports, and one I will never forget.” If you see Emily in the hallway, don’t forget to congratulate her!