Dylan French (born May 16, 1997) is a Canadian fencer. French was a

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 ...

champion when he won gold in the individual épée at the 2023 Pan Am Games in Santiago, as well as a silver in the men's team épée.

Career

French started fencing at the age of eight with the Dynamo Fencing Club in Richmond, British Columbia, and started fencing competitively in the sport at the age of 11. He went on to the 2014 World Junior Fencing Championships where he won a bronze medal in the cadet men's individual épée. French served as Team Canada’s Opening Ceremony flag bearer at the

2014 Youth Olympic Games The 2014 Summer Youth Olympics (), officially known as the II Summer Youth Olympic Games , and commonly known as Nanjing 2014 ( zh, c=南京2014, p=Nánjīng Èr Líng yī sì), were the second Summer Youth Olympic Games, an international sports, ...

in Nanjing. French competed at the

2019 World Fencing Championships The 2019 World Fencing Championships was held from 15 to 23 July 2019 in Budapest, Hungary. Schedule Twelve events were held. ''All times are local (UTC+2).'' Medal summary Medal table Men's events Women's events References External l ...

as part of the men's team épée competition. He first started competing individually in the

men's épée at the 2022 World Fencing Championships The Men's épée competition at the 2022 World Fencing Championships The 2022 World Fencing Championships was held from 15 to 23 July 2022 in Cairo, Egypt. Schedule Twelve events were held. ''All times are local (UTC+2).'' Medal summary Med ...

and again at the 2023 World Championships. French then led the Canadian fencing team into the

2023 Pan American Games The 2023 Pan American Games ( es, Juegos Panamericanos de 2023, links=no), officially the XIX Pan American Games and commonly known as Santiago 2023, is a forthcoming international multi-sport event governed by the Panam Sports Organization, s ...

where he won gold in the individual men's épée. This was Canada's first ever Canadian men's épée gold at the Pan American Games and the first individual fencing gold since the

2011 Pan American Games The 2011 Pan American Games, officially the XVI Pan American Games, was an international multi-sport event that was held from October 14–30, 2011, in Guadalajara, Jalisco, Mexico. Some events were held in the nearby cities of Ciudad Guzmán, ...

. French followed up his historic gold by helping the team win silver in the men's team épée competition.

Personal

He graduated from the

Mendoza College of Business The Mendoza College of Business is the business school at the University of Notre Dame, a private university in Notre Dame, Indiana. Founded in 1921, it offers both undergraduate and graduate degrees. It is ranked among the top 30 business school ...

at University of Notre Dame in 2019. As of 2023, he worked for a financial technology company.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:French, Dylan 1997 births Living people Canadian male fencers Pan American Games gold medalists for Canada Fencers at the 2023 Pan American Games Sportspeople from Richmond, British Columbia Pan American Games medalists in fencing Medalists at the 2023 Pan American Games