BROOKLYN, N.Y. – Long Island University Director of Athletics Debbie DeJong has announced the appointment of Ivan Lee as the new head coach of LIU's women's fencing program. A member of the US Fencing Hall of Fame and former Olympian, Lee will helm the program in Brooklyn in his first head-coaching role.
"It is an extreme honor to be named the next head coach of fencing here at LIU," Lee said. "A special thank you to Dr. Kimberly Cline and Debbie DeJong for trusting me with this great opportunity. I am looking forward to meeting the team, creating a legacy of success both academically and competitively, and taking this program to the next level."
"I am very excited to have Ivan join our staff," DeJong said. "During his career, Ivan has proven his success both on the piste, and through his tireless dedication and commitment to growing the sport. Under Ivan's leadership, I truly believe that we can become a national contender."
A Brooklyn native who graduated from Brooklyn Technical High School, Lee was a two-time national champion in the sabre at St. John's, and led the program to its first Division I national championship in 2001. That year, he was named the US Olympic Committee's Male Athlete of the Year.
A member of the 2001 U.S. Junior World Sabre team, Lee anchored the team to its first men's world title at the 2001 Junior World Championships in Gdansk, Poland, becoming the first man of African American descent to win a world fencing championship. Lee won two gold medals at the Pan American Games in 2003. He was also a member of the 2004 U.S. Olympic Team in Athens, placing 12th in the individual competition and 4th in the team competition, missing the bronze medal by one point.
Lee still holds more world championship medals (4) than any American male ever, and he remains the only American male fencer ever to win a Junior Olympic Championship, a National Championship, an NCAA Championship, a World Championship, a Pan American Championship and make an Olympic Team.
Lee, who began fencing in 1994 at the Peter Westbrook Foundation, retired from international competition in 2008, and was inducted into the United States Fencing Association Hall of Fame Inductee in 2014.
Since his retirement, Lee, who graduated from St. John's with a degree in journalism in 2004, has served as a volunteer coach with the Peter Westbrook Foundation, and was the Fencing Commissioner for the Public School Athletic League (PSAL) in New York. He also works as a police office in the New York City Police Department.