Magda Skarbonkiewicz: Meet the 18-year-old sabre fencing sensation with an eccentric style competing for Team USA
First-time Olympian Magda Skarbonkiewicz is bringing the next generation to the sport of fencing.
Skarbonkiewicz started fencing at the age of six. At age 12, she had fully committed to the sport, training at the Oregon Fencing Alliance with the support of her coach and dad, Adam Skarbonkiewicz, himself a former U.S. National Sabre Champion.
The now 18-year-old from Portland, Oregon, has earned the nomination for Paris 2024 as part of the Team USA women’s sabre squad, competing in individual and team events.
Find out more about Skarbonkiewicz’s journey to Paris as a young athlete, the importance of maintaining a kind and humble demeanor, her mentorship with Mariel Zagunis, and how she has come to embrace her self-described “eccentric” style of fencing in this interview with Olympics.com.
As National Olympic Committees have the exclusive authority for the representation of their respective countries at the Olympic Games, athletes' participation at the Paris Games depends on their NOC selecting them to represent their delegation at Paris 2024.
Training with Olympic legend Mariel Zagunis as a 12-year-old novice fencer
Skarbonkiewicz grew up training at the same Oregon Fencing Alliance gym as Olympic legend Mariel Zagunis. Zagunis’ career has encompassed five Olympics, highlighted by two Olympic gold medals in individual sabre. Skarbonkiewicz grew up watching Zagunis compete. When she started training in earnest at age 12, she recalls “magical” practice sessions with Zagunis, “I started fencing and practicing with her as she prepared for her events— it was just an amazing experience to train with her, someone who’s a legend in the sport.’”
Skarbonkiewicz says Zagunis continues to be part of her life, “She’s always checking in on me, asking if I need anything, asking about my mental health. It's really amazing.”
Olympic qualifying as a high school senior
Skarbonkiewicz describes the last year of qualifying as “chaotic.” She likens it to “being on a roller coaster filled with mental ups and downs.” The now-senior in high school switched to online school after missing 50 days during her junior year traveling to tournaments, during which time she won her first of back-to-back Junior World Championships in 2022 and 2023.
This past year, her travel featured a rigorous series of international World Cup and Grand Prix competitions as well as USA Fencing national tournaments, leaving little time for extracurriculars or an ordinary high school social life. But Skarbonkiewicz says it has all been worth it: “To make the Olympics is a once-in-a-lifetime thing, especially at 18. I put everything on the line, adjusting my life accordingly.”
The challenges of athletic success at a young age
Skarbonkiewicz has struggled through the challenges of experiencing success as a young athlete as she graduated through the levels. She says, “I became Cadet and double Cadet world champion, then junior world champion, in the span of three or four years. And when I got to the senior level, I was able to climb high, but I wasn’t able to medal or get those results.” She said the challenges resulted in feeling “stuck” and questioning her lack of accomplishments and success.
But instead of focusing on results, she now focuses on the journey to getting there. “I've been having to learn for myself—you’re going to feel stuck achieving a lot at a young age, [which] is going to put you in a perfectionist mindset. So I’m just learning to overcome that and enjoy the journey more.”
2023 Pan American double gold medalist
Despite missing out on this year's world championship title, Skarbonkiewicz came back strong with a huge season highlight, winning double gold at the 2023 Pan American Games.
She likened the competition to a preview of the Olympic experience and reflected on it as a “fun” event. She says, “That experience was so stress-free. I tried to enjoy myself more.” She capped off her individual gold medal win with a celebration, which is becoming her trademark, offering, “It’s good to just celebrate.”
Magda Skarbonkiewicz of Team USA competes against Maia Chamberlain of Team USA during Fencing Women's Sabre Individual Final at at 2023 Pan American Games in Santiago, Chile.
Skarbonkiewicz embraces her eccentric fencing style
Skarbonkiewicz has often referred to her fencing style as eccentric. She explains it as being out of the box, “more open and more similar to a men’s fencer.” She says that at first, she thought her style was a negative.
But she explains that she’s found freedom in not being boxed into a certain style, and her unorthodox style has served her well. Skarbonkiewicz nods to her wins at the Junior World Championships in Dubai and then Bulgaria. She says, “Maybe it pays off being different with my fencing. My fencing got me to where I am today.”
The importance of being humble off the strip
Beyond her athletic accomplishments, Skarbonkiewicz also looks to Zagunis as a role model for how to behave off the strip. She says she’s inspired by Zagunis’ “ability to accomplish all this in a high-level sport and do amazing things, but still come back and just be humble and kind and be a good person outside of the sport.”
She also nods to her father and coach, Adam Skarbonkiewicz, for instilling humility in her. “He’s very humble about his achievements and experiences. I had to learn about his past through different articles and what people told me.” That history includes qualifying for the U.S. Olympic team at Atlanta 1996, which he was unfortunately unable to attend because of a citizenship deadline.
Skarbonkiewicz says, “Actions will define you at the end of the day. So just make good choices and actions, morally be a good person. People will remember you for who you are off the strip.”