Cliff Bayer

Cliff Bayer (born June 24, 1977, in New York City) is an American two-time Olympian foil fencer.[1]

For the Idaho politician, see Cliff Bayer (politician).
Cliff Bayer
Personal information
Born (1977-06-24) June 24, 1977
New York, New York, United States
Height6-0.5 (185 cm)
Weight174 (79 kg)
Sport
SportFencing
Event(s)Foil
College teamUniversity of Pennsylvania Quakers
Medal record
Men's fencing
Representing  United States
Pan American Games
Silver medal – second place1999 WinnipegTeam Foil

Early and personal life

Bayer was born in New York City, and is Jewish.[2]

College

In 1996, he was the NCAA Foil Champion while at the University of Pennsylvania, where he attended the Wharton School of Business, fencing for the University of Pennsylvania Quakers fencing team.[3] He also earned an MBA from Wharton.[4]

US championships

Bayer won the 1995 U.S. National Championship while still a senior at Riverdale Country School in the Bronx. He was, at age 17, the youngest person to win the national championship—an honor that he held until 2007, when Gerek Meinhardt won the championship at the age of 16.[5] He also won the U.S. National Championship in 1997, 1998, and 2000.[6][7][8]

Olympics

At the 1996 Summer Olympics, Bayer placed 34th in the individual foil competition, and was a member of the U.S. foil team that finished 10th.

Bayer was ranked No. 8 in the world in foil at the start of the 2000 Summer Olympics.[9] He was eliminated from the competition in the third round, placing 10th.[10] Bayer was named male Fencing Athlete of the Year by the 2000 U.S. Olympic Committee.[9]

World Cup

Bayer was the first American to win a medal at a senior men's World Cup event, taking the bronze in Espinho, Portugal in May 1999.[9] He was also the first American to win a World Cup title, winning the World Championship Cup St. Petersburg, Russia that same year.[9] At that competition, he routed 3-time world champion Sergei Golubitsky of Ukraine 15–6 in the quarterfinals before defeating 1995 world champion Dmitriy Shevchenko of Russia 10–5 in the final.[11] Bayer won a second World Cup title in April 2000 in Bonn, Germany, where he defeated defending Olympic champion Puccini of Italy.[12]

World Championships

Bayer's best showing at the World Fencing Championships was in 1999, when he placed 12th in the individual foil event.[9]

Pan American Games

Bayer won a team silver medal at the 1999 Pan American Games in Canada.[13]

Hall of Fame and awards

In 1996, Bayer was named U.S. Fencer of the Year.[9] He was named first team All-American in 1997 and 1998, and All-Ivy in 1998.[14]

Bayer was honored in 1999 as the United States Olympic Committee's Male Athlete of the Month for May, beating out canoe sprinter Nate Johnson, boxer Demetrius Hopkins, and cycler Christian Vande Velde.[15]

He was inducted into the National Jewish Sports Hall of Fame in 2001.[16] He was also inducted into the Philadelphia Jewish Sports Hall of Fame.[2]

Bayer was inducted into the USA Fencing Hall of Fame in 2013[17] and into the University of Pennsylvania Hall of Fame in 2014.

See also

References
  1. "Cliff Bayer Olympic Results". sports-reference.com. Archived from the original on April 18, 2020. Retrieved February 22, 2012.
  2. Philly Jewish Sports Hall of Fame Cliff Bayer
  3. Ralph Hickok (April 1, 2010). "History – NCAA Fencing Champions". HickokSports.com. Archived from the original on February 23, 2002. Retrieved January 3, 2011.
  4. "News". whartonjournal.com. Archived from the original on August 7, 2011. Retrieved January 3, 2011.
  5. "Fencing – Bronx Prep Student, 17, Wins Foil Title". New York Times. June 7, 1995. Retrieved January 3, 2011.
  6. "Fencing – National Championship – Teen-Ager Wins Women'S Finals". New York Times. June 13, 1998. Retrieved January 3, 2011.
  7. "Bayer wins third U.S. title". The Daily Pennsylvanian. June 18, 1998. Archived from the original on July 16, 2011. Retrieved January 3, 2011.
  8. "Fencing – New Yorker Wins An Olympic Berth". New York Times. July 10, 2000. Retrieved January 3, 2011.
  9. "Bayer, Cliff". Jews in Sports. Retrieved January 31, 2014.
  10. "2000 US Olympic Fencing Results". U.S. Fencing Online. Archived from the original on December 10, 2005. Retrieved January 31, 2014.
  11. "Flash of the Blade". Fencer.org. August 29, 1999. Retrieved January 3, 2011.
  12. "Fencing – World Cup: Bayer Wins Gold In the Men's Foil". New York Times. April 10, 2000. Retrieved January 31, 2014.
  13. "Resultados – Results – Pan American Games". Columbia.edu. Retrieved January 31, 2014.
  14. "2004 Penn Fencing Media Guide" (PDF). University of Pennsylvania. 2004. Retrieved January 31, 2014.
  15. "Cliff Bayer wins USOC award". The Daily Pennsylvanian. June 17, 1999. Archived from the original on July 16, 2011. Retrieved January 3, 2011.
  16. "Jewish Sports Hall of Fame". Jewishsports.org. March 25, 2001. Archived from the original on February 3, 2014. Retrieved January 31, 2014.
  17. "Cliff Bayer OLY". USA Fencing. Retrieved 2023-04-26.
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