Gabriel Nehme posing with the Lebanese flag on the top step of the podium for the U13 individual fencing event at the West Asian Championships in Amman, Aug. 31, 2024. Photo DR
It wasn’t just in Paris that Lebanese fencing made headlines this summer. Following Philippe Wakim's representation of the Cedar country in foil at the Olympic Games, young Lebanese fencers traveled to Jordan from Aug. 30 to Sept. 2 for the Junior West Asian Championships (in the U13, U15, and U17 categories).
Six young Lebanese fencers participated: Anthony Bassil, Mark Bassil, Gabriel Nehme, Sasha Salameh, Wendy Sleiman and Jeremy Tanos. Among them, the standout of the 2024 edition, which saw competitors from eight different Arab countries, was Gabriel Nehme. In his second appearance at this continental tournament, the young fencer, who will celebrate his 13th birthday next month, achieved the remarkable feat of winning titles in two different weapons: foil and sabre, in the U13 category.
He defeated Kuwaiti Khalid al-Houli 8-5 in the fencing final and Jordanian Kais al-Khatib 8-6 in the sabre final. This rare achievement and marathon day (recalling a certain Leon Marchand) was made possible because the two events were scheduled consecutively.
Parental Funding
This decision was endorsed by his coach, Mahmoud Ali Ahmad, who traveled with the team to the Sports City in Amman and also coached him at his club, College Saint-Joseph d’Antoura in Kesrouan. His ability to closely monitor his protégés' performances throughout the tournament was made possible by the dedication of the young fencers' parents, who pooled their resources to cover the team's travel and hotel expenses. Jihad Salameh, president of the Lebanese Fencing Federation, expressed gratitude to them for their support and congratulated the medalists, praising their efforts, according to the National News Agency (NNA).
In addition to his two gold medals, Nehme also secured a bronze in the U15 team sabre event alongside Bassil and Tanos. The fourth medal for the Lebanese delegation was earned by Sasha Salameh, who won bronze in the U17 women's foil category, finishing third among the 19 competitors.
Lebanon had sent larger teams in the previous two editions of the West Asian Championships, in 2023 and 2022, where they won 9 and 12 medals respectively. In February, the total reached 13 medals at the Arab Championships. Although this summer's results did not match that high, Lebanese fencing continues to make its mark on the continental stage, with hopes to build on this success in the future.