Adam Feldman remains the winningest male foil fencer in Penn State University history with 92.3% wins. Born in Philadelphia, he started fencing at the Abington YMCA at age 15 and fell in love with the sport. With lessons under Coach Bill Shipman at the University of Pennsylvania, he began to taste some success at the junior level. As his enthusiasm intensified, he was determined to learn and build on his good basic skills.
Under the tutelage of USA Fencing Hall of Fame Coach Emanuail Kaidanov as a student at PSU, Feldman proceeded to win 10 Keystone State titles in both Junior and Open Foil and Epee. A 3-time NCAA All-American, he captured the 1986 NCAA National Men’s Foil title while also finishing 2nd at the 1986 US Olympic festival. He went on to win the 1987 USFA Div II National Men’s foil title. After being named the 1987-88 prestigious PSU Ernest B. McCoy award for Outstanding Male Student-Athlete, he was unsuccessful at a bid to make the 1988 Olympic Team and retired from fencing. He turned his attention to a career in medicine and went on to marry his college sweetheart, Mary Rose.
Unexpectedly, Feldman returned to fencing when his daughter, Jessica, wanted to learn the sport in college. From his home, he made trips to Philadelphia to help her train and then picked up the blade and started fencing again in 2015. Achieving a life-long goal of representing the USA and his Jewish heritage, he qualified for the 15th European Maccabi games in Berlin, Germany placing 6th in his return to competition and 2nd in Team Foil. It was a remarkable return against athletes 25 years his junior. After recovering from knee surgery, he started training at ZFA under Coach Micky Zeljkovic and went on to win the Keystone state Vet Foil Gold and then the 2017 USA Fencing Men’s National foil Championships. Representing Team USA at the Vet World Championships in Maribor, Slovania and at the Vet Pan Am Championships in St. Thomas, VI, he won the Pan Am Vet 40 and Vet 50 Foil championships. He & his teammates placed 2nd at the 2018 USA Fencing National Vet Men’s team foil event.
Feldman and his wife live in Wyomissing, Pennsylvania.
