Sada Molly Jacobson (born February 14, 1983) is an American Olympic
fencer. She is the
2008 Olympic Individual Sabre silver medalist in women's sabre (one of three Olympic medals), the
2004 Olympic Individual Sabre bronze medalist in women's sabre, and 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 ...
champion in women's sabre. In 2016, she was inducted into the
United States Fencing Hall of Fame
The United States Fencing Association (USFA) is the national governing body for the sport of fencing in the United States. The USFA was founded on April 22, 1891, as the Amateur Fencers League of America (AFLA) by a group of 20 New York City fen ...
.
Background
Jacobson was born in
Rochester
Rochester may refer to:
Places Australia
* Rochester, Victoria
Canada
* Rochester, Alberta
United Kingdom
*Rochester, Kent
** City of Rochester-upon-Medway (1982–1998), district council area
** History of Rochester, Kent
** HM Prison ...
,
Minnesota
Minnesota () is a state in the upper midwestern region of the United States. It is the 12th largest U.S. state in area and the 22nd most populous, with over 5.75 million residents. Minnesota is home to western prairies, now given over to ...
, and is Jewish.
[''Day by Day in Jewish Sports History'' - Bob Wechsler]
/ref>["Sada Jacobson" , Jewish Women's Archive]
/ref> Her parents are David Jacobson, a member of the 1974 U.S. National fencing team in saber who was an All-American fencer at Yale University and now an endocrinologist
Endocrinology (from ''endocrine'' + '' -ology'') is a branch of biology and medicine dealing with the endocrine system, its diseases, and its specific secretions known as hormones. It is also concerned with the integration of developmental events ...
, and Tina Jacobson, who also fenced competitively.[Ivy Women in Sports]
/ref> She is the sister of fellow U.S. Olympic team fencer and Junior World Champion Emily Jacobson, and fencer Jackie Jacobson.
Jacobson swam competitively for two years in high school.
She postponed her college career to train full-time for the 2004 Summer Olympics.
Her hometown is Dunwoody, Georgia, and she has lived in Atlanta, Georgia. She graduated from The Westminster Schools
The Westminster Schools is a Kindergarten –12 private school in Atlanta, Georgia, United States, founded in 1951.
History
Westminster originated in 1951 as a reorganization of Atlanta's North Avenue Presbyterian School (NAPS), a girls' school ...
in Atlanta, Georgia
Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,7 ...
, in 2000. She graduated with a history degree from Morse College
Morse College is one of the fourteen residential colleges at Yale University, built in 1961 and designed by Eero Saarinen. It is adjacent to Ezra Stiles College and the two colleges share many facilities. The current Head of College is Catherine ...
, Yale University
Yale University is a Private university, private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the List of Colonial Colleges, third-oldest institution of higher education in the United Sta ...
. She studied history at Yale University.
Fencing career
She trained at Nellya Fencers from a young age.[''Playing in Time: Essays, Profiles, and Other True Stories'' - Carlo Rotella]
/ref> She has been coached by Arkady Burdan of Nellya Fencers, and Henry Hartunian at Yale.
College & Under-19 career
Jacobson was a 2-time NCAA sabre champion for Yale University
Yale University is a Private university, private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the List of Colonial Colleges, third-oldest institution of higher education in the United Sta ...
(2001 and 2002). She won an 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 ...
Championship and earned 1st-team All-America honors as a freshman at Yale, after a 30–0 regular season. Jacobson was 29–1 as a sophomore, and repeated as NCAA champion. In addition, she was the 2001 Under-19 National Champion. In 2003, she won the World Junior Fencing Championships in women's saber.
Senior World Championships
Jacobson is a 4-time Senior World Championships team member (2000–03). She was a member of the gold-medal 2000 Women's Sabre World Championship team at the age of 17.["Sada Jacobson"]
/ref> She won another bronze medal at the 2006 World Fencing Championships
The 2006 World Fencing Championships were held at the Oval Lingotto in Turin, Italy. The event took place from 29 September to 7 October 2006. Same Thing of the 2006 Winter Olympics
The 2006 Winter Olympics, officially the XX Olympic Winter ...
sabre competition.
In her first individual World Championships in 2001, Jacobson placed 12th. She placed 5th in 2002 and 2003.
Pan American Games
Jacobson won the gold medal in sabre at the 2003 Pan American Games.
National Championships
Jacobson won the US women's sabre championship in 2004 (beating her sister in the final) and 2006.
She was ranked # 1 in the US from June 2003 through October 2005.
Number 1 World Ranking
In 2004, at 19 years of age she became the first U.S. woman to be ranked No. 1 in the world in sabre
A sabre ( French: sabʁ or saber in American English) is a type of backsword with a curved blade associated with the light cavalry of the early modern and Napoleonic periods. Originally associated with Central European cavalry such as th ...
, and only the second U.S. athlete to claim the title, after male fencer Keeth Smart.
Olympic medals
Jacobson won the bronze medal in women's sabre at the 2004 Summer Olympics, the first year that event was hosted at the Olympics. Her match took place before the gold-silver match, and therefore Jacobson became the first women's sabre Olympic medalist. She won the silver medal in individual sabre and bronze in the team sabre event at the 2008 Summer Olympics.
Post-fencing career
Jacobson indicated that she intended to retire from competitive fencing after the 2008 Olympic competitions concluded, and focus on law school, and starting life with her fiance. She graduated with a J.D. degree from the University of Michigan Law School
The University of Michigan Law School (Michigan Law) is the law school of the University of Michigan, a public research university in Ann Arbor, Michigan. Founded in 1859, the school offers Master of Laws (LLM), Master of Comparative Law (MCL ...
in 2011. She and Brendan Brunelle Bâby, who graduated from Pennsylvania State University where he competed in épée
The ( or , ), sometimes spelled epee in English, is the largest and heaviest of the three weapons used in the sport of fencing. The modern derives from the 19th-century , a weapon which itself derives from the French small sword. This contain ...
and was a member of three NCAA championship teams, were married in May 2009 in Atlanta at the Nellya Fencers Club, where she had trained for both the 2004 and 2008 Summer Olympics. As of 2015, she practiced commercial litigation for McKenna Long & Aldridge
McKenna Long & Aldridge LLP (MLA) was a United States-based international law and public policy firm with more than 575 attorneys and public policy advisors in 15 offices and 13 markets. The firm provided legal, business, and pub ...
.
Awards
*Jacobson, who 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 ...
, received the Marty Glickman
Martin Irving Glickman (August 14, 1917 – January 3, 2001) was an American radio announcer who was famous for his broadcasts of the New York Knicks basketball games and the football games of the New York Giants and the New York Jets.
Glickman w ...
Award for the Outstanding Jewish Scholastic Athlete of the Year in both 2002 and 2005.
*She was named Academic 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 school ...
for 2002.
*In 2003 Jacobson was named the U.S. Fencer of the Year.
*Also in 2003, she was inducted in the U.S. National Jewish Sports Hall of Fame
The National Jewish Sports Hall of Fame and Museum, in Commack, New York, is dedicated to honoring American Jewish figures who have distinguished themselves in sports.
Its objective is to foster Jewish identity through athletics, and to commemo ...
, which recognizes outstanding Jewish athletes.
*In 2012, she was inducted into the International Jewish Sports Hall of Fame
The International Jewish Sports Hall of Fame ( he, יד לאיש הספורט היהודי, translit=Yad Le'ish HaSport HaYehudi) was opened July 7, 1981 in Netanya, Israel. It honors Jewish athletes and their accomplishments from anywhere arou ...
.
*In 2016, she was inducted into the United States Fencing Hall of Fame
The United States Fencing Association (USFA) is the national governing body for the sport of fencing in the United States. The USFA was founded on April 22, 1891, as the Amateur Fencers League of America (AFLA) by a group of 20 New York City fen ...
.">"USA Fencing Members Elect Hall of Fame Class of 2016"
/ref>
See also
* List of select Jewish fencers
References
External links
*
*
*
CNN: Olympic fencer inspires new generation
National Jewish Sports Hall of Fame bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Jacobson, Sada
1983 births
Living people
Jewish female fencers
Fencers at the 2004 Summer Olympics
Fencers at the 2008 Summer Olympics
Jewish American sportspeople
Olympic silver medalists for the United States in fencing
Olympic bronze medalists for the United States in fencing
Yale Bulldogs fencers
University of Michigan Law School alumni
American female sabre fencers
International Jewish Sports Hall of Fame inductees
Medalists at the 2008 Summer Olympics
Medalists at the 2004 Summer Olympics
Pan American Games gold medalists for the United States
Pan American Games medalists in fencing
The Westminster Schools alumni
Fencers at the 2003 Pan American Games
Medalists at the 2003 Pan American Games
21st-century American Jews
21st-century American women
Left-handed fencers