WALTHAM, Mass. – Brandeis University graduate student Maggie Shealy has been selected to train with the United States Olympic Fencing Team in Colorado Springs, Colorado, this week.

Shealy earned her invitation to train with the U.S. National Team as one of the top 12 women's sabre fencers in the nation. She will serve as a sparring partner for the top four fencers, who are expected to represent the U.S. at the 2024 Olympics in Paris. Throughout this year, while taking her graduate courses at Brandeis's Heller School for Social Policy and Managment, Shealy will be competing in World Cup events as she tries to become Brandeis's third-ever Olympian, and second in fencing. Shealy received her undergraduate degree in politics with a minor in Women's Studies in May 2023.
 

"I am incredibly honored to be here and train with the best of the best," Shealy said. "I've known these fencers for quite a while and I look forward to working with them and learning from them for the next week. I'm immensely grateful for the unwavering support and guidance I've received on my athlete career. My coaches, [saber coach Matthew] Zich, [head coach] Elif [Soyer Sachs], and [strength and conditioning coach Kaitlyn] Carson, have played a pivotal role in driving me toward my goals. Their dedication and mentorship have been invaluable.

"I'd also like to extend my heartfelt appreciation to my mom. When she received the news, she wasted no time in securing a plane ticket for me, even before I had a chance to make arrangements to miss class and attend the event. Her support and immediate action underscore how fortunate I am to have her by my side, wholeheartedly backing my aspiration!"

"This is a great opportunity for Maggie," said Brandeis head coach Elif Soyer Sachs. "She has worked super hard to be a part of this group of strong and competitive young women, and I believe this is a first for Brandeis fencing in terms of a student athlete being invited to the Olympic Training Center while still matriculating at Brandeis."

Shealy will be the first active Brandeis fencer to participate in a U.S. Olympic training camp – silver medalist Tim Morehouse '00 did not qualify until after he graduated.

Shealy recently finished tied for third at the NCAA National Collegiate Fencing Championships, reaching the knockout round after finishing first in the round-robin stage. Among those Shealy will be sparring with in Colorado Springs are women's top-ranked Elizabeth Tartakovsky, who graduated from Harvard and eliminated Shealy at the NCAA Championships; two-time World Junior champion Magda Skarbonkiewicz from Oregon, and Princeton graduate Maia Chamberlain.

Shealy, who earned College Sports Communicators Academic All-America honors in spring of 2023, is teaching fencing at the Boston Fencing Club in addition to earning her Master's degree from the Heller School. She also serves as a graduate research assistant for Brandeis's Dean's office of Equity, Inclusion and Diversity.

Shealy is a native of Chapel Hill, North Carolina, and a graduate of East Chapel Hill High School.