María Belén Pérez Maurice (born 12 July 1985) is an

Argentinian Argentines (mistakenly translated Argentineans in the past; in Spanish ( masculine) or ( feminine)) are people identified with the country of Argentina. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Argentines, ...

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 ...

fencer who was Pan American champion in 2014. She was the only representative of the sport from Argentina at the 2012 Summer Olympics in

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

, the 2016 Summer Olympics in

Rio Rio or Río is the Portuguese, Spanish, Italian, and Maltese word for "river". When spoken on its own, the word often means Rio de Janeiro, a major city in Brazil. Rio or Río may also refer to: Geography Brazil * Rio de Janeiro * Rio do Sul, a ...

, and the

2020 Summer Olympics The , officially the and also known as , was an international multi-sport event held from 23 July to 8 August 2021 in Tokyo, Japan, with some preliminary events that began on 21 July. Tokyo was selected as the host city during the 1 ...

Tokyo Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and List of cities in Japan, largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, ...

Career

Pérez Maurice started fencing at the age of thirteen at the instigation of her mother, an amateur fencer. She did not like the sport at first but took an interest after her first victory. She trained at the Círculo Militar in Buenos Aires–her father is a colonel in the

Argentine Army The Argentine Army ( es, Ejército Argentino, EA) is the land force branch of the Armed Forces of the Argentine Republic and the senior military service of Argentina. Under the Argentine Constitution, the president of Argentina is the commander- ...

– under Lucas Saucedo, who remains her coach as of 2014. She first fenced

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 ...

, a weapon in which she reached the quarter-finals at the 2006 Buenos Aires World Cup, then switched to

for the 2006–07 season. She began a career as a

fashion model A model is a person with a role either to promote, display or advertise commercial products (notably fashion clothing in fashion shows) or to serve as a visual aid for people who are creating works of art or to pose for photography. Thoug ...

parallel to her sport career but had to abandon it for lack of time. In 2011, she won two satellite tournaments and earned a bronze medal at the Pan American Championships in

Reno, Nevada Reno ( ) is a city in the northwest section of the U.S. state of Nevada, along the Nevada-California border, about north from Lake Tahoe, known as "The Biggest Little City in the World". Known for its casino and tourism industry, Reno is the ...

. These results allowed her to qualify for the 2012 Summer Olympics as one of the top two fencers from the American zone. She is the first Argentinian to gain Olympic access through FIE rankings. She lost 15–12 in the first round to Italy's Gioia Marzocca and finished 21st. In the 2013–14 season she won the gold medal at the Pan American Championships in San José after defeating Olympic champion

Mariel Zagunis Mariel Leigh Zagunis (born March 3, 1985) is an American sabre fencer. She is a two-time Olympic champion in the individual sabre (2004 and 2008) and the first American to win a gold medal in Olympic fencing. She was Team USA flag bearer in th ...

in the final. She finished the season No.21 in world rankings, a career-best. Pérez Maurice studied food engineering at the

Universidad Argentina de la Empresa Argentine University of Enterprise ( es, Universidad Argentina de la Empresa, UADE) is a private university in Buenos Aires, Argentina. It was founded by the Argentine Chamber of Corporations. UADE is an institution which is conceived, born and ...

. María Belén won the bronze medal at the

2015 Pan American Games Fifteen or 15 may refer to: *15 (number), the natural number following 14 and preceding 16 *one of the years 15 BC, AD 15, 1915, 2015 Music * Fifteen (band), a punk rock band Albums * ''15'' (Buckcherry album), 2005 * ''15'' (Ani Lorak al ...

in Toronto, Canada. She competed at the

. She lost to Manon Brunet in the bronze medal match. She accepted a marriage proposal from her coach and partner Lucas Saucedo.

References

External links

* * * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Perez Maurice, Maria Belen 1985 births Living people Argentine female foil fencers Argentine female sabre fencers Argentine people of French descent Olympic fencers for Argentina Fencers at the 2012 Summer Olympics Fencers at the 2016 Summer Olympics Fencers at the 2020 Summer Olympics Pan American Games bronze medalists for Argentina Pan American Games medalists in fencing Fencers at the 2015 Pan American Games Medalists at the 2015 Pan American Games Fencers from Buenos Aires 21st-century Argentine women