Competition drove Olympic champion

Maplewood resident Jackie Dubrovich said winning a gold medal at the Olympics was “definitely surreal.”

The American fencer represented the United States at the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris and won a gold medal in women’s team foil as part of Team USA.

Born in Paterson, Dubrovich grew up in Riverdale. She moved to Maplewood with her fiance, Brian Kaneshige, during the pandemic and trained at the New Jersey Fencing Alliance in the township with her husband as her coach.

She began fencing when she was 8 years old. Originally, she tried dance and gymnastics, but said she wasn’t good at either.

“I was tall, lanky, uncoordinated,” she said.

She had a cousin who fenced in high school and her parents put her in fencing.

“I didn’t love it,” she said. “I didn’t appreciate it for what it is. As I started getting better, traveling to local, state, and national competitions, I loved to compete. As I got older, I loved the sport. The main motivating factor was; I loved beating other people.”

Dubrovich attended Pompton Lakes High School and graduated from Columbia University in 2016 with degrees in psychology, human rights, and Russian literature and culture.

She participated in the 2019 World Fencing Championships winning a team bronze medal.

At the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo, she represented the United States.

It was a “tough experience” during the pandemic, she said.

“It wasn’t the Olympics I envisioned. The social aspect of the game wasn’t there. There was not much socializing. I couldn’t watch other sports.”

In addition to competing during the pandemic, one of the biggest challenges of fencing is that it can be quite expensive.

“Between all the equipment, all the traveling, all the training expenses, member fees at clubs,” said Dubrovich. “My family comes from a middle-class background. I couldn’t travel to all of the competitions. My competitors were traveling much sooner than I was.”

Prior to competing full time, Dubrovich had a full-time job in advertising. A year and a half ago, she made the decision to leave her job in order to train for Paris.

“It opened up more free time,” she said. “I was able to focus on condition sessions, working with a sports psychologist, rest and recovery in-between sessions.”

During a typical week, Dubrovich would train five days a week. She’d work on strength and conditioning two to three mornings and have a four-hour training session that included warm-up drills, work with a coach, and fencing with a training partner.

Dubrovich said she had no strict food protocol.

“Just generally fueling enough through the entire day. Making sure I had enough energy for multiple sessions. High protein. Hydration was important. All things to ensure I’m able to train for a long period of time,” she said.

Her advice to young athletes is to do it if it’s something you’re passionate about and derive joy from.

“I’ve lost a lot more than I’ve won,” she said. “A majority of athletes lose a lot. It’s how you overcome obstacles that will define you as an athlete and a person as well.”

Dubrovich is inspired by hard working committed athletes that are willing to sacrifice and structure their life around a specific goal.

She cites Olympic fencer Valentina Vezzali as an example.

“She has an almost laser-like focus,” she said. “Nothing else matters to her. It’s all about her fencing goals. I have a similar work ethic. I work really hard at this thing.”
Having just turned 30, Dubrovich said that she is retiring from fencing.

“I knew Paris was going to be my last,” she said.

But she and her fiancé are opening their own fencing club in Orange.

“This will be a way for me to stay involved in the sport,” she said. “I’ll help coach and help on the back end, administrative work.”

  fencing, Maplewood, Olympics