Daniel Kellner (born April 16, 1976, in

Livingston, New Jersey Livingston is a township (New Jersey), township in Essex County, New Jersey, Essex County, New Jersey. As of the 2010 United States census, 2010 U.S. census, the township's population was 29,366, reflecting an increase of 1,975 (+7.2%) from the ...

) is an American Olympic

foil Foil may refer to: Materials * Foil (metal), a quite thin sheet of metal, usually manufactured with a rolling mill machine * Metal leaf, a very thin sheet of decorative metal * Aluminium foil, a type of wrapping for food * Tin foil, metal foil ...

fencer. He has won gold and silver medals at the

Pan American Games The Pan American Games (also known colloquially as the Pan Am Games) is a continental multi-sport event in the Americas featuring summer sports, in which thousands of athletes participate in a variety of competitions. The competition is held ...

, and a gold medal at the

Maccabiah Games The Maccabiah Games (a.k.a. the World Maccabiah Games; he, משחקי המכביה, or משחקי המכביה העולמית; sometimes referred to as the "Jewish Olympics"), first held in 1932, are an international Jewish and Israeli multi-sp ...

Early life

Kellner was born in

, and is

Jewish Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...

. Kellner attended the

Pingry School The Pingry School is a coeducational, independent, college preparatory country day school in New Jersey, with a Lower School (K–5) campus in the Short Hills neighborhood of Millburn, and a Middle (6–8) and Upper School (9–12) campus ...

, graduating in 1994.

Fencing career

College

Fencing foil for the Columbia Lions fencing team, as he attended

Columbia University Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manhatt ...

from which he graduated in 1998 with a degree in American history, Kellner was a 4-time All-American and 3-time All-

Ivy League The Ivy League is an American collegiate athletic conference comprising eight private research universities in the Northeastern United States. The term ''Ivy League'' is typically used beyond the sports context to refer to the eight schools ...

First Team Selection (1995-97-98). He was the

NCAA The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. It also organizes the athletic programs of colleges an ...

Fencer of the Year in 1998.

Quitting and comeback

After failing to make the 2000 Olympic team, Kellner retired from fencing. He returned to fencing three years later and won a

gold medal A gold medal is a medal awarded for highest achievement in a non-military field. Its name derives from the use of at least a fraction of gold in form of plating or alloying in its manufacture. Since the eighteenth century, gold medals have bee ...

at the

2003 Pan American Games The 2003 Pan American Games were held in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, from August 1 to 17, 2003. The successful bid for the games was made in the mid-1990s, when Dominican Republic had one of the highest growth rates in Latin America. Al ...

, and his first national foil championship in 2004.

US Nationals

Kellner was formerly ranked No. 1 in men's foil in the U.S. He won the foil competition at the U.S. fencing national championships in 2004. Kellner rallied from a 0–6 and 1–7 deficit in his semifinal against Jed Dupree, countered with 7 straight touches, edging ahead to 8–7. The bout went to 14–14 before Kellner won it. In the championship bout, Kellner beat

Jonathan Tiomkin Jonathan Tiomkin (known as "Jon"; born July 12, 1979, in Brooklyn, New York) is an American Olympic foil fencer. Fencing career High school Tiomkin began fencing when he was a freshman at Hewlett High School in Hewlett, New York. He defeated ...

15–6. He finished 2nd in 1997, 1998, and 2000.

World Cups

He had podium finishes in World Cups for several seasons in a row.

Olympics

In the Olympics in

Athens Athens ( ; el, Αθήνα, Athína ; grc, Ἀθῆναι, Athênai (pl.) ) is both the capital and largest city of Greece. With a population close to four million, it is also the seventh largest city in the European Union. Athens dominates ...

he came in 16th in foil, and the U.S. team came in 4th. Kellner, seeded 26th, won his first bout, upsetting # 7 seed Cedric Gohy of Belgium, 15–12. His next bout, in the round of 16, was against

Richard Kruse Richard Kruse (born 30 July 1983) is a former British right-handed foil fencer and four-time Olympian. In 2015, he was part of the Great Britain team that shocked Olympic champions Italy to win the first European Games gold in team foil, the fi ...

of Great Britain. In a very close match, in which he had been leading 14–12, Kellner lost 15–14.

Maccabiah Games

Kellner decided to skip the 2005 World Cup in Vancouver and the US nationals so he could compete in the

2005 Maccabiah Games The 17th Maccabiah Games ( he, המכביה ה-17 ישראל תשס"ה), held in Israel, were an incarnation of the 'Jewish Olympics.' They attracted the largest attendance of any Maccabiah Games, including more than 900 representatives from the Un ...

in Israel. His international ranking slipped from No. 11 to 12 as a result. He led the U.S. delegation's march into the

Ramat Gan Ramat Gan ( he, רָמַת גַּן or , ) is a city in the Tel Aviv District of Israel, located east of the municipality of Tel Aviv and part of the Tel Aviv metropolitan area. It is home to one of the world's major diamond exchanges, and many ...

stadium alongside legendary swimmers

Mark Spitz Mark Andrew Spitz (born February 10, 1950) is an American former competitive swimmer and nine-time Olympic champion. He was the most successful athlete at the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich, winning seven gold medals, each in world-record ti ...

and

Lenny Krayzelburg Lenny Krayzelburg (born September 28, 1975, as Leonid Krayzelburg; uk, Леонід Крайзельбург, russian: link=no, Леони́д Кра́йзельбург) is an American former backstroke swimmer, Olympic gold medalist, and form ...

. Kellner won the silver medal at the 2005 Maccabiah Games, losing to

Israel Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...

Tomer Or Tomer ( he, תֹּמֶר, , Palm Tree) is an Israeli settlement organized as a moshav in the West Bank. Located in the Jordan Valley next to the Palestinian village of Fasayil, it falls under the jurisdiction of Bik'at HaYarden Regional Counci ...

15–9.

Pan American Games

Kellner won a team silver medal at the

1999 Pan American Games The 1999 Pan American Games, officially the XIII Pan American Games or the 13th Pan American Games, was a major international multi-sport event that was held from July 23 to August 8, 1999, in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada and surrounding towns and ...

in Canada. He also won gold medals, both team and individual, at the

. The team trailed 40–30 entering the last match, which Kellner won 15–4, setting off a celebration. Teammate Jon Tiomkin said: “There are no words to describe it. No words at all. That was absolutely incredible. I've never seen a comeback like that in my life at such a high level competition and with such high stakes.”

US Team Captain

He was the captain of the U.S. men's foil National Team squad. He is a 7-time

world championship A world championship is generally an international competition open to elite competitors from around the world, representing their nations, and winning such an event will be considered the highest or near highest achievement in the sport, game, ...

team member.

References

External links

US Olympic bioJews in Sports bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kellner, Dan American male foil fencers Jewish male foil fencers 1976 births Living people Columbia Lions fencers Columbia University alumni Olympic fencers of the United States Fencers at the 2004 Summer Olympics People from Livingston, New Jersey Maccabiah Games medalists in fencing Maccabiah Games silver medalists for the United States Pingry School alumni Pan American Games gold medalists for the United States Pan American Games silver medalists for the United States Competitors at the 2005 Maccabiah Games Pan American Games medalists in fencing Fencers at the 2003 Pan American Games Medalists at the 2003 Pan American Games 21st-century American Jews