Northwest Wayne News

Wayne State University fencer Mahmoud Elsayed achieved a notable result at the Lagos Junior World Cup on December 14th. Competing in Nigeria, Elsayed secured third place after an impressive series of performances.

Elsayed, who hails from Tanta, Gharbia, Egypt and studies at El Nasr Official Language School, finished the preliminary rounds with a flawless 5-0 record. He achieved a +13 touch differential (24-11), earning him the third seed for the direct elimination rounds.

In his first direct elimination bout, Elsayed defeated Prude Joiela Aissi of Benin with a score of 15-7. Advancing to the round of 16, he narrowly overcame Konstantinos Karampasis from Greece in a tight 15-14 match. The quarterfinals saw Elsayed securing another victory by defeating Panagiotis Theodoropoulos of Greece 15-11.

The semifinals presented a challenging match against fellow Egyptian Youssef Shamel. Elsayed was bested by Shamel, who went on to win the championship, with a close score of 15-13.

As a result of his performance in Lagos, Elsayed is now ranked fifth globally among juniors and holds the 76th position in senior rankings.

Looking ahead, Mahmoud Elsayed will compete at the Coupe Du Monde in Basel, Switzerland on January 4 and 5. Additionally, Wayne State University fencers Sam Garrett from San Francisco, Ethan Leung from Hong Kong, Zeyad Nofal from Cairo, and Bryce Heim from Oconomowoc are set to participate in the January North American Cup in Kansas City from January 3-6.