Mika'il Sankofa (born Michael Lofton, 10 December 1963 in Montgomery,

Alabama (We dare defend our rights) , anthem = "Alabama (state song), Alabama" , image_map = Alabama in United States.svg , seat = Montgomery, Alabama, Montgomery , LargestCity = Huntsville, Alabama, Huntsville , LargestCounty = Baldwin County, Al ...

) is a world recognized sabre fencer and coach. He competed in the individual and team sabre events at the

1984 Events January * January 1 – The Bornean Sultanate of Brunei gains full independence from the United Kingdom, having become a British protectorate in 1888. * January 7 – Brunei becomes the sixth member of the Association of Southeast A ...

1988 File:1988 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The oil platform Piper Alpha explodes and collapses in the North Sea, killing 165 workers; The USS Vincennes (CG-49) mistakenly shoots down Iran Air Flight 655; Australia celebrates its Australian ...

and

1992 Summer Olympics The 1992 Summer Olympics ( es, Juegos Olímpicos de Verano de 1992, ca, Jocs Olímpics d'estiu de 1992), officially known as the Games of the XXV Olympiad ( es, Juegos de la XXV Olimpiada, ca, Jocs de la XXV Olimpíada) and commonly known as ...

Background

During his fencing career, Sankofa trained under Tanya Adamovich,

Csaba Elthes ''Maestro'' Csaba Elthes (March 10, 1912 – November 8, 1995) was a fencing master who emigrated to the U.S. Elthes trained many Olympic competitors in the 1960s through 1980s, including the only U.S. Olympic fencing medalist of the period, Peter ...

, Peter Frohlich, Szabo Adrosh,

Christian Bauer Christian Bauer (born 11 January 1977) is a French chess Grandmaster (chess), grandmaster and author. He is a three-time French Chess Championship, French Chess Champion (1996, 2012, 2015). In 2005 he won the 2nd Calvia Chess Festival. In 2009, ...

and Lazlo Szepesi. A graduate of

New York University New York University (NYU) is a private research university in New York City. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded by a group of New Yorkers led by then-Secretary of the Treasury Albert Gallatin. In 1832, the ...

with a BA in Economics, Sankofa is a former publicist who has worked for firms such as

Ernst & Young Ernst & Young Global Limited, trade name EY, is a multinational professional services partnership headquartered in London, England. EY is one of the largest professional services networks in the world. Along with Deloitte, KPMG and Pricewaterh ...

Grey Advertising Grey Group is a global advertising and marketing agency with headquarters in New York City, and 432 offices in 96 countries, operating in 154 cities. It is organized into four geographical units: North America; Europe, Middle East & Africa, Asia ...

, Kirshenbaum, Bond & Partners and Shandwick International. From 1990 - 2009, Sankofa served as co-founder, director of athletics and fencing coach for the

Peter Westbrook Foundation Peter Jonathan Westbrook (born April 16, 1952) is an American former sabre fencing champion, active businessman and founder of the Peter Westbrook Foundation. A former U.S. champion and Olympic medalist, Westbrook's career began when his Japanes ...

. He was responsible for running a year-round class for over 200 participants, including a number of elite-level athletes. Sankofa's students have included three

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 ...

champions, five national champions, six junior world team members, the 2005 Junior Olympic men's cadet and junior sabre champions, the 2005 Junior Olympic women's sabre champion and the 2005 national cadet men's sabre champion. Sankofa also serves as head fencing coach at the United Nations International School as well as the head sabre coach at the Ross School's summer program in

East Hampton, New York The Town of East Hampton is located in southeastern Suffolk County, New York, at the eastern end of the South Shore of Long Island. It is the easternmost town in the state of New York. At the time of the 2020 United States census, it had a total ...

. He runs the Sankofa Sabre Camp in East Hampton, conducts clinics and does color commentary for fencing competitions around the country. In 2006, Sankofa received his Maestro’s degree with honors from

Semmelweis University Ignaz Philipp Semmelweis (; hu, Semmelweis Ignác Fülöp ; 1 July 1818 – 13 August 1865) was a Hungarian physician and scientist, who was an early pioneer of antiseptic procedures. Described as the "saviour of mothers", he discovered that t ...

in Budapest, Hungary. Sankofa served as the head coach for the

Stevens Institute of Technology Stevens Institute of Technology is a private research university in Hoboken, New Jersey. Founded in 1870, it is one of the oldest technological universities in the United States and was the first college in America solely dedicated to mechanical ...

men's fencing team 2005-09. Sankofa served as an analyst for

NBC Sports NBC Sports is an American programming division of the broadcast network NBC, owned and operated by NBC Sports Group division of NBCUniversal and subsidiary of Comcast. The division is responsible for sports broadcasts on the network, and its d ...

' coverage of

fencing at the 2008 Summer Olympics Fencing competitions at the Beijing 2008 Summer Olympics were held from August 9 to August 17 at the Olympic Green Convention Center. Medal summary Medal table Men's events Women's events Events 10 sets of medals were awarded in the follo ...

. He currently owns and coaches at Thrust Fencing Academy in Nyack, New York. The academy is dedicated to enriching the lives of students age 5 to adult, through the Olympic sport of fencing.

Records

Sankofa had an outstanding career as a competitive sabre fencer. He was a member of the United States Olympic Team in

and

1992 File:1992 Events Collage V1.png, From left, clockwise: 1992 Los Angeles riots, Riots break out across Los Angeles, California after the Police brutality, police beating of Rodney King; El Al Flight 1862 crashes into a residential apartment buildi ...

, and reached the pinnacle of his sport when he captured US national sabre championships in both 1991 and 1992. He took part in 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 ...

as member of Sabre Team Silver in 1987 and 1991. In addition, Sankofa was a ten-time National Team Sabre Champion, in 1984, 1985, 1986, 1987, 1988, 1990, 1991, 1992, 1994, and 1995. Sankofa was also a four-time NCAA champion for the Violets, capturing the sabre title in 1984, 1985, 1986 and 1987. He is the only male fencer to ever win four NCAA individual championships.

Hall of Fame

In 1994, he was inducted into the NYU Sports Hall of Fame,
NOTE: Sankofa is listed under the name Michael Lofton. and in the summer of 2005, he was inducted into the United States Fencing Association Hall of Fame.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Sankofa 1963 births Living people American male sabre fencers Sportspeople from Montgomery, Alabama Olympic fencers of the United States Fencers at the 1984 Summer Olympics Fencers at the 1988 Summer Olympics Fencers at the 1992 Summer Olympics Pan American Games medalists in fencing Pan American Games silver medalists for the United States Pan American Games bronze medalists for the United States Fencers at the 1987 Pan American Games Fencers at the 1991 Pan American Games

Background

Records

Hall of Fame

See also

References

External links