Dagmara "Daga" Wozniak ( pl, Woźniak; born July 1, 1988) is an American saber fencer. Wozniak was named to the U.S. Olympic team at the

2008 Summer Olympics The 2008 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXIX Olympiad () and also known as Beijing 2008 (), were an international multisport event held from 8 to 24 August 2008, in Beijing, China. A total of 10,942 athletes from 204 Nat ...

in women's saber competition as a substitute, and as a competitor at the 2012 and

2016 Summer Olympics ) , nations = 207 (including IOA and EOR teams) , athletes = 11,238 , events = 306 in 28 sports (41 disciplines) , opening = 5 August 2016 , closing = 21 August 2016 , opened_by = Vice President Michel Temer , cauldron = Vanderlei Cordeiro de ...

.The 2008 Olympic Fencing Team
/ref>Dagmara Wozniak
/ref> As of the summer of 2016, she was ranked as one of the top 10 saber fencers in the world.

Early life and education

Her parents are Gregory and Irena Wozniak and she has an older sister, Zuzanna. She was born in

Wrocław Wrocław (; german: Breslau, or . ; Silesian German: ''Brassel'') is a city in southwestern Poland and the largest city in the historical region of Silesia. It lies on the banks of the River Oder in the Silesian Lowlands of Central Europe, r ...

, Poland. When Wozniak was one year old, she immigrated to the United States with her parents. The family settled in

Avenel, New Jersey Avenel is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) located within Woodbridge Township, in Middlesex County, New Jersey, United States.

, Wozniak's hometown. Wozniak graduated from Colonia High School in

Woodbridge Township, New Jersey Woodbridge Township is a township in Middlesex County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. The township is both a regional hub for Central New Jersey and a major bedroom suburb of New York City in the New York metropolitan area located within the ...

in 2006. She was the New Jersey high school sabre champion in 2005. She went on to attend St. John's University, where she majored in Biology.

Fencing career

Wozniak began fencing at age 9 at the Polish American Fencing School (PAFS) in Linden, New Jersey.Tufaro, Greg
"Fencing for gold: Colonia's Wozniak will represent U.S. in saber competition in Beijing Olympics"
''Asbury Park Press'', July 24, 2008. Accessed July 26, 2008. She has trained at the Manhattan Fencing Center since high school, and her coach is Yury Gelman. She won three team medals at the Junior World Fencing Championships. Wozniak was an Olympic alternate in the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing but did not compete. She became a full member of the U.S. team at the

2012 Olympic Games The 2012 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXX Olympiad and also known as London 2012) was an international multi-sport event held from 27 July to 12 August 2012 in London, England, United Kingdom. The first event, the ...

and placed eighth, losing to Sofiya Velikaya of Russia in the quarterfinals by the score of 15–13. It was later revealed that she had fenced with a partially

torn Achilles tendon Achilles tendon rupture is when the Achilles tendon, at the back of the ankle, breaks. Symptoms include the sudden onset of sharp pain in the heel. A snapping sound may be heard as the tendon breaks and walking becomes difficult. Rupture typica ...

. After winning bronze medals in the team competition at the

2011 World Fencing Championships The 2011 World Fencing Championships was held at Catania, Italy from 8–16 October. Medal table Men's events Women's events External links FIEOfficial website {{World Fencing Championships World Fencing Championships W Fencing Cha ...

, and the 2012 and 2013 Senior World Championships, Wozniak won a gold medal with Team USA in 2014. As of the summer of 2016, she was ranked among the top 10 saber fencers in the world. She represented the United States at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro. The team won a bronze medal. She has qualified to represent the United States in fencing at the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo in 2021.

References

External links

Wozniak on TwitterWozniak on Facebook
*
"'Pretty Powerful': The Olympic Fencer Dagmara Wozniak's Fierce Beauty"
''Allure'', July 28, 2016 (video) {{DEFAULTSORT:Wozniak, Dagmara 1988 births Living people American female sabre fencers Colonia High School alumni Fencers at the 2011 Pan American Games Fencers at the 2012 Summer Olympics Fencers at the 2015 Pan American Games Fencers at the 2016 Summer Olympics Polish emigrants to the United States People from Woodbridge Township, New Jersey St. John's University (New York City) alumni American people of Polish descent Medalists at the 2016 Summer Olympics Olympic bronze medalists for the United States in fencing Pan American Games medalists in fencing Pan American Games gold medalists for the United States Sportspeople from Middlesex County, New Jersey Sportspeople from Wrocław St. John's Red Storm fencers Medalists at the 2011 Pan American Games Medalists at the 2015 Pan American Games Fencers at the 2020 Summer Olympics 21st-century American women