Welcome to a special First to 15 miniseries: The Golden Touch. The Golden Touch is a First to 15 miniseries exploring the thrilling journey of Team USA as they secured their first-ever gold medal in women’s team foil at the Paris 2024 Olympics. Join us as we speak to the athletes, their coaches, and key support staff who made history in one of the most unforgettable Olympic moments for USA Fencing. Today, we have the pleasure of talking with Maia Weintraub, one of Team USA’s shining stars in women’s foil and a key player in the U.S. team's unforgettable Olympic win in Paris 2024. Maia made history not only by stepping into a high-stakes match as a substitute against Italy but also by coming out on top in both her bouts, contributing to a groundbreaking gold medal for Team USA.
Welcome to a special First to 15 miniseries: The Golden Touch.
The Golden Touch is a First to 15 miniseries exploring the thrilling journey of Team USA as they secured their first-ever gold medal in women’s team foil at the Paris 2024 Olympics. Join us as we speak to the athletes, their coaches, and key support staff who made history in one of the most unforgettable Olympic moments for USA Fencing.
Today, we have the pleasure of talking with Maia Weintraub, one of Team USA’s shining stars in women’s foil and a key player in the U.S. team's unforgettable Olympic win in Paris 2024. Maia made history not only by stepping into a high-stakes match as a substitute against Italy but also by coming out on top in both her bouts, contributing to a groundbreaking gold medal for Team USA.
[INTRO]
[00:00:01] BW: Hello, and welcome to First to 15, the official podcast of USA Fencing. I'm your host, Bryan Wendell. In this show, you're going to hear from some of the most inspiring, interesting, and insanely talented people in the sport we all love. First to 15 is for anyone in the fencing community and even for those just checking out fencing to see what it's all about. So whether you're an Olympian or a Paralympian, a newcomer, a seasoned veteran, a fencing parent, a fan, or anyone else in this wonderful community, this podcast is for you. With that, let's get to today's episode. Enjoy.
[INTERVIEW]
[00:00:40] BW: Welcome back to The Golden Touch miniseries here on First to 15. Today, we have the pleasure of talking with Maia Weintraub, one of Team USA's stars in women's foil and a key player in the US team's unforgettable Olympic victory in Paris. Maia made history not only by stepping into that high-stakes final match against Italy, but also by coming out on top in both of her bouts which helped contribute to that historic gold medal for Team USA. Hey, Maia, thanks for joining us today.
[00:01:07] MW: Thanks for having me.
[00:01:09] BW: Let’s just get right into it. I mean, you stepped in cold during that gold medal match against Italy facing Arianna Errigo. What was it like to come in cold in such a high-stakes match, especially against a fencer whose reputation is internationally known?
[00:01:25] MW: Yes. It was terrifying. Obviously, in a team event, you're not just worrying about yourself. You're worrying about your teammates, so that was definitely going through my mind. In the beginning of the bout, I think I maybe psyched myself out a little bit. I think I was trying to be too perfect because of the environment in which we were fencing, the greatest stage of sport. But when I realized, “Oh, this is just like any other tournament. I’ve fenced here before. I've been on a stage like this,” I told myself I should just have fun and relax and be creative. That's what I'm good at, and it took off from there.
[00:02:04] BW: Yes. Because of the unique rules around Olympic substitutions, you weren't able to go in. Well, I guess you could have, but it would have been permanent had you gone in against China or against Canada. As you're watching those matches, are you becoming more nervous about the impending substitution or less knowing that now you've seen what an Olympic team event looks like in person? How did those two initial rounds change your mindset?
[00:02:32] MW: Yes. Going into the tournament, obviously, being the substitute, it's a weird gray area because you have to be ready to go on at any time. But you don't know if you will go in at all, so just managing expectations. But being ready to perform if your team needs to definitely took a lot of mental preparation which, well, considering the result, I hope it means that it paid off.
But, honestly, watching the bouts with China and Canada, I remember just feeling so into it. Just feeling so proud of my team, all the work that we've put to getting to where we were because it is a team effort. Not just the fencers that are on the strip but everyone that has contributed to that effort. I just felt really proud and happy that I was able to experience that with them. But I honestly didn't even – I wasn't even really thinking about the fencing part at all.
[00:03:26] BW: Well, that's good. I mean, that, obviously, paid off. Going back to that match against Errigo, it's the fifth leg, and you're substituted in. Then she actually gets the first three touches on you, and she's warmed up. She's been fencing all day. You get out there, and you fall down three, zero. How do you not panic in that moment? Because as anybody who watch knows, you ended up getting six of the next seven touches after that.
[00:03:51] MW: Yes. I think I have a lot of experience being down when I'm fencing. That, for me, kicks me into high focus. I think knowing that I'm down but there's no more room for error makes me elevate my fencing and reinforces in my head that, okay, it's time to lock in. It’s time to really settle down, which maybe is a little nerve-wracking for the audience. But, for me, that's kind of – it helps me get going.
[00:04:21] BW: Yes. Then, obviously, you finish that one six to four, and then you go back and do a five-one leg against Palumbo. What do you remember about that leg that kind of – well, not kind of. It did give us an insurmountable lead that Lee and Lauren were able to bring home.
[00:04:38] MW: Yes. I think I was on a sort of high that I had never really experienced before because that was my first time fencing in the Olympics. I was just really excited to be able to continue to experience that. It was just another opportunity to showcase my creativity and what I had to bring.
[00:04:56] BW: Yes. Did you know when Ralf was going to make that substitution? Did you know when it was going to happen? How far in advance were you giving a heads up about when you were going to go in?
[00:05:06] MW: During the Canada bout, I think in the middle or towards the end, Ralf pulled me aside and told me like no matter what, I would be going in. But I didn't know for who or whether it was going to be Canada or Italy. We had talked a little bit about it, and the original plan was actually for me to go in against Favaretto, I think. Well, I guess that was the plan for me to fence for sure Favaretto, but Palumbo got substituted. I didn't even know I was going to fence Errigo at all, but it just worked out that way. It was just a lot of surprises.
[00:05:43] BW: Yes. Because whoever you get substituted for, you're not just taking them out, but that also determines who you're going to fence because the lineups are already known. When he tells you that, what do you think was Ralf’s strategy if you were to get into his head and telling you with that much notice in the Canada match that, "Hey, you're going to go in at some time, for sure. So you are fencing today, basically.”?
[00:06:09] MW: Yes. I think it was definitely for the mental preparation aspect. I mean, it is extremely hard to go in physically, but I think it's even harder to go in mentally unprepared. So just giving me that time to really focus and tell myself, "Okay, I'm going to fence. What is my plan? What do I want to do?" Because I think that preparation is half as important as the actual fencing.
[00:06:30] BW: Yes. Speaking of preparation, as the fourth member of the women's foil team, you also had a hand in preparing the individual fencers for their individual competition a few days earlier, while also making sure you were ready to peak on August 1st when your name was called. What did you see as your role when it came to being a training partner for the individual event for the three other women?
[00:06:55] MW: Yes. I took it in really seriously because back there in the training hall, I'm pretty sure even the coaches were maybe allowed into one of the rooms. But I was really the main person that they were fencing with and then warming up with. For me, I took that as my role in helping them do the best that they can do. We're all fencing for the US. For me, that's my contribution for two years.
[00:07:22] BW: Yes. I love that. It looks like right now you're in a dining hall or something at Princeton, right? Which is a great segue to my next question which is you're back in school after taking a gap year for the Olympics. How has collegiate fencing and your time at Princeton, how do you feel that prepared you for the Olympic stage?
[00:07:42] MW: I think it gave me a glimpse into what a team really is. I mean, growing up fencing, everything is individual. Yes, we have team competitions and events, but they're very rare. You don't get as much experience with those as much as you do individual. Even in team competitions, you're fencing individually one-on-one. It's not really – it's hard to get experience with that team aspect. I think in college fencing, that's the first time I really experienced being on a team besides being on the national team. I think having those two years of experience really taught me the importance of bonding with your team, having that connection because I think it does affect performance.
[00:08:24] BW: Yes. Everyone on the squad has their own collegiate experience, too, right? Which is unique about fencing is that all 20 of you, not just the four women's foil fencers, but all 20 of you were fencing in college or currently are fencing in college. Your NCAA career has been phenomenal so far. Let’s flip it now. How are you going to take that Olympic experience back with you to Princeton to continue your collegiate career knowing that you've got that gold medal around your neck? People already knew your name, but now you're an even bigger target when they see you out there.
[00:08:57] MW: Yes. I think with all this experience, I still know that with fencing, anything can happen. Anyone can be anybody, so we're not being complacent after this victory over the summer. Especially going that we have our first week this weekend, I think I'm fencing 18 bouts, six schools. That's plenty of opportunity to lose to anybody. But just enjoying fencing again I'd say. I think I took a nice rest after the summer because, I mean, it was a really long season, a lot of training, very energy-draining. Coming back to school, I'm trying to view fencing in a different life, something that's more enjoyable. I'm excited to be able to share that with my team and getting to fence with others again.
[00:09:43] BW: Yes. I'm sure it was great to see everybody again and have the team come back together with the family that you've created there. I do want to jump back to your individual career back to May 2024 in Hong Kong. That was your first World Cup gold, right? How did that affect your confidence and your mindset heading into the Olympics? What did that do for you?
[00:10:06] MW: I think that this season has been amazing for US Women's Foil and especially the girls or the women on the team. This was, I think, one of the last competitions before the Olympics. I believe it was Hong Kong and Shanghai. Looking back on the season, I remember thinking, wow, the other three women, Lauren, Jackie, and Lee, they all medaled at a World Cup or a Grand Prix. I remember thinking like our team is so strong and so impressive. I didn't even think to put myself into that possibility. I think after making that victory, I proved to myself that like, “Yes, I belong on this team. We all belong here.” I think it's very rare that any other country can say that all four of their members have medaled at a World Cup in the same season.
[00:10:58] BW: Yes. That helped your rankings. It’s funny. When I talked to Ralf, I met with him at the October NAC in Atlantic City, and I was like, “Yes.” The gold medal is even cooler because you guys were underdogs against Italy. He's like, “No. Actually, we weren't. If you look at the rankings of our four and the rankings of their four, we were actually even.” It just speaks to what you're talking about, which is the strength and depth of women's foil.
When you look forward to LA, and I know you've got your four-year roadmap probably somewhere in your head or you're still working on it, but when you think about LA, the competition is going to be pretty fierce because it's not just a guarantee for anybody. What does that do for you knowing that there's going to be people who are going to be gunning for your spot in that top four not just in the season before LA but in the run-up to that?
[00:11:50] MW: Yes, of course. Nothing is guaranteed. Obviously, anything can happen season to season. People can have rise-ups. People can have falls. For me, I've tried to view these four years as a marathon and not a sprint. I'm trying to, I guess, recover energy-wise from the summer. This was a path, a very draining past year as I've mentioned before. I think not putting too much pressure on myself to be the best every single year, I think, and really when you peak matters a lot. I think just focusing on myself and how to time that best and how best to improve myself and not really thinking about others is how I want to move forward. In the long run, you can't really control what others do. All you can do is focus on yourself.
[00:12:34] BW: Does that frustrate you? You've done a lot of interviews with Philly media and national media. Does that frustrate you when people are like, "Hey, so what about LA? Are you going to –" Because you're like, "Wait, I'm still trying to recover from Paris. Literally, I could win gold at the next three tournaments and miss LA.” Nothing's guaranteed, like you said.
[00:12:54] MW: Well, I think it's maybe a misconception. I mean, I think a lot of different sports work differently. I think it's an opportunity for me to just explain, "Oh, this is how the fencing system works." It's just more of an opportunity to expose the sport to other people. They get more of an understanding. I wouldn't say it frustrates me. It also helps me recollect my thoughts like, "Yes, this is what I want to do. This is my plan." It solidifies that in my head.
[00:13:19] BW: I want to talk about the team because you're involved in a lot of different teams. Princeton, obviously, there's a team dynamic that gets built up just by seeing these people every day. But the women's foil team, you're all from different areas of the country. But you came together, and there was such great chemistry out there. In talking with your teammates, they've mentioned that as well. What was the secret to that? Was it all the outings that you guys did together, the non-fencing activities? Was it just the bonding of being together so much? What was the secret to that side of it?
[00:13:53] MW: I think the secret is a luck of really good mix of people. I mean, I think, obviously, you don't have to be friends with your teammates. I think you have to have a certain level of professionalism, which is sometimes hard when you have a team that spans maybe 10 years in age gap. I think we had that, but we also had a little extra, which was that we genuinely really loved each other. I think that's something that's hard to force. You can't really produce that. I think it either happens or it doesn't happen. But I think having that level of professionalism in the first place is really important in general.
I also think the secret was lots of games of Settlers of Catan. Many times, that honestly might have broken us apart as much as it did bring us together. But, yes, I think just genuinely loving each other.
[00:14:45] BW: Yes. That, obviously, paid off, and it showed that you all had – you were serious enough but also loose enough. I just love the story of like hanging out before the Italy match and hearing about how you all were playing games and having McDonald's and just de-stressing a little bit in such a key moment. Then you're out there, and Lauren gets the last touch. What's going through your head at that point? We've seen the photos, and we've watched the video. I've seen it dozens of times at this point. But what's going through your head in that moment?
[00:15:15] MW: I think absolutely shocked. I think I understood what was going on, but I didn't understand how or what this actually meant in the long run. I remembered just my body filling with goosebumps. I was like – it really felt like an electric shock went through my body. Just being able to experience that with my teammates was unreal.
[00:15:34] BW: How has your life changed now that you're an Olympic gold medalist?
[00:15:37] MW: In some ways, I don't think it's changed at all. That's mostly in my head how I do things. I think once I left the Paris environment, the Olympic environment, for me, everything
really went back to normal. But coming back to campus and having people maybe that I didn't even know watched. There's so many people that I didn't know watched fencing at all or knew what it was that came up to me. They were like, "Wow, congratulations." I think realizing that the scope of what our performance did, how it touched so many people made me realize like, no, things are a little different in the first couple of months more so. Now, things have died down, but I still get the congratulations here and there from people. Yes.
[00:16:26] BW: I love that. That's the people who aren't maybe die-hard fans of fencing, but what about those in the fencing community? What do you hope they take away from watching you and the entire women's foil team and seeing what the United States can do that maybe 20 years ago people would never have dreamed of?
[00:16:45] MW: Yes. Well, I hope they just take with it that it's all a process. It may not happen immediately, right? I remember talking with Lee and Jackie, and they had said when they started fencing maybe like 10, 15 years ago, they would never have expected a result like this. I think me and Lauren having known maybe, oh, it's a possibility, shows how long we've covered. Who knows, maybe in 10 years, what power we could have and the influence of the US in fencing.
[00:17:15] BW: Yes. Lee and Jackie both said that you and Lauren have it easy. You've never experienced the hardships maybe, for lack of a better word, that women's foil has had and the struggle to get there. But you've seen ups and downs yourself, too. I mean, this season was really strong. Especially against Italy, the last three or four competitions against them, you all won. But you've seen what it's like to have to struggle and pick yourself up from a team standpoint, too. How rewarding was it knowing how far you've come, even if maybe the road isn't quite as long as Lee and Jackie have seen?
[00:17:53] MW: Yes. Oh, so rewarding. It makes me think back to when I first started fencing. Obviously, anyone that's starting a sport, I feel like people talk about, “Oh, you have an Olympic dream,” or talking about the Olympic dream. In my head, I always thought, “Oh.” I never really thought of it as a goal, as a possibility. Maybe in part of that was to protect my peace, right? If you do set a goal, there are chances you don't achieve it, and it can lead to disappointment.
For me, during my fencing journey, I've tried to just live in the present and celebrate my achievements as they come. I think reaching that Olympic gold brought me back to all those moments when people would joke about going to the Olympics and an Olympic dream. I was like, "Wow, I actually did achieve that." I was able to really appreciate it in that moment.
[00:18:39] BW: Yes. Where's the medal today? Is it at home? Is it at school?
[00:18:43] MW: Currently, it's in a drawer in my dorm room.
[00:18:46] BW: Okay.
[00:18:48] MW: Yes. Because I've had it for some events here.
[00:18:50] BW: Okay. You need it handy. But you're not wearing it right now, so I guess you don't wear it around campus.
[00:18:54] MW: No, I do not. I do not wear it around campus, no.
[00:18:58] BW: That'd be a way to guarantee that people recognize you and congratulate you everywhere you go. Okay. So you're at Princeton now. This is a question that will resonate with a lot of our listeners, which is how are you balancing everything and school, your international fencing, your collegiate fencing, a social life. What's your technique?
[00:19:17] MW: My technique is to take things one step at a time. I think sometimes, for me, when I look at the big picture, I can get a little stressed and overwhelmed that I have to remember, okay, even little things such as making a schedule for that day or that week of things I want to get done breaks it down into bite-sized pieces. Because I feel like I have taken on a bit more of a load coming back to school, especially because I feel like I missed out on the academics or the social life last year. So some things, right?
I'm captain of the fencing team now so that's an added responsibility. I'm working in a lab on campus, which I was doing last year, and I'm continuing that work this year. I'm active in a dance group that I auditioned for back in freshman year, but I haven't really had an opportunity to participate in it as much. I'm trying to do all these things, while coming back to school. For me, thinking of priorities since last year. I did prioritize fencing this year. I want to prioritize living my school life while I only have it for two years left.
[00:20:24] BW: Yes, yes. That makes perfect sense. Finally, let's just talk short term. What are your goals for this season, whether academically or athletically?
[00:20:33] MW: I think athletically, I have less goals. I'm pretty sure I can only really go to maybe half of the World Cups this season, just because of how the NCAA schedule works out and my school schedule and what I can handle. In my head, I'm happy to just go to these tournaments, slowly get back into it. I have the collegiate season that I get to be back a part of. I don't really have hard goals athletically at the moment, just going through the motions and getting back into the rhythm of things and taking it slow and academically. I think I mentioned all these other things that I have going on, and I just want to enjoy the experience I had like, “Whoa, I only have it for two years left.”
[00:21:19] BW: Well, Maia, this has been really great talking to you. Just congratulations, again, on such an amazing summer, and good luck this season and beyond. We'll be rooting for you.
[00:21:29] MW: Thank you.
[00:21:30] BW: Great seeing you. Thanks, Maia.
[00:21:31] MW: Nice to see you, too. Goodbye.
[00:21:33] BW: Bye.
[END OF INTERVIEW]
[00:21:34] BW: Thanks for listening to First to 15, the official podcast of USA Fencing. We'll be back with our next conversation in a couple of weeks. In the meantime, you can stay up to date on all the latest fencing news by following us on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter. If you liked this podcast, please help us grow and reach more people by leaving us a rating or a review. Until next time, I'm Bryan Wendell, and I hope to see you real soon out on the strip. Bye.
[END]