Junior & Cadet Worlds Day 5: Jaelyn Liu's Historic Cadet–Junior Foil Double
Published
Jaelyn Liu (Star Fencing Academy / Fencing Institute of Texas) beat Yixin Zhang (CHN) 15–8 to win Cadet Women's Foil gold on Day 5 of the 2026 Junior & Cadet World Championships — one day after winning Junior Women's Foil gold on Day 4.
Jaelyn Liu (Star Fencing Academy / Fencing Institute of Texas) beat Yixin Zhang (CHN) 15–8 to win Cadet Women's Foil gold on Day 5 of the 2026 Junior & Cadet World Championships — one day after winning Junior Women's Foil gold on Day 4.
A first in the sport
Liu had already completed the Cadet-and-Junior double at the previous world championships in Wuxi. Doing it again in Rio made her the first fencer from any country, in any weapon, to win both Cadet and Junior individual titles at two different world championships.
Seven world titles
The Cadet gold was Liu's seventh world title overall:
- Three individual Cadet golds
- Two individual Junior golds
- One Junior team gold
- One Senior team gold
An all-American semifinal
Liu's semifinal came against her compatriot Ella Calise (Tim Morehouse Fencing Club). With two Americans on the strip, no coaching was permitted. Calise took bronze.
It was the first time the United States earned two Cadet Women's Foil medals at a single world championships since May Tieu and Delphine DeVore did it in 2018 at Verona.
Cadet Women's Foil U.S. results
- Gold — Jaelyn Liu
- Bronze — Ella Calise
- 9th — Caterina Fedeli (Epic Fencing Club)
Cadet Men's Foil
Aaron Wang (Bluegrass Fencers' Club) took bronze out of a 125-fencer field. Also competing: Lucas Senic (Renaissance Fencing Club), 40th, and Bradley Li (Star Fencing Academy), 50th.
What a double like this actually requires
Winning two age categories on consecutive days is a training-load story more than a talent story: the ability to fence a full day, recover overnight, and produce the same quality the next morning. For young saber fencers chasing regional and national results, that is the honest takeaway — conditioning and recovery habits decide the second day.
Related reading on Saber Nation
- Day 6 in Rio: ninth-seeded Junior Men's Foil team wins world title
- All USA Fencing news for saber fencers
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Official USA Fencing source: 2026 Junior & Cadet Worlds Day 5: Jaelyn Liu Makes History With Back-to-Back Cadet and Junior Foil Titles; Wang and Calise Also Medal — published April 5, 2026.
Training options
Continue with Day 6 in Rio: Junior Men's Foil team gold or More USA Fencing news or Saber fencing classes in Bethesda, MD.