 Choupenitch at the 2014 Paris World Cup | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Personal information | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nationality | Czech | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Born | (1994-05-02)2 May 1994 (age 31) Brno, Czech Republic | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Home town | Brno | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 1.96 m (6 ft 5 in) | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Weight | 90 kg (198 lb) | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Fencing career | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Sport | Fencing | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Country |  Czech Republic | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Weapon | foil | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Hand | right-handed | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Club | Sokol Brno 1 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| FIE ranking | current ranking | |||||||||||||||||||||||
Medal record
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Alexander Choupenitch (Czech pronunciation:[ˈalɛksandr̩ˈʃupɛɲɪtʃ]; born 2 May 1994) is aCzech right-handedfoilfencer, two-timeOlympian, and 2021 individual Olympic bronze medalist.[1]
Choupenitch is the son of Belarusian-born opera singers who both worked atNational Theatre Brno. The unusual form of his name – Choupenitch instead of Šupenič – is due to the fact that papers issued to his parents for travelling through Europe used a French spelling.[2]
His first sport, basketball, left him frustrated as he seldom got to touch the ball, so his mother took him to the fencing section of Sokol Brno when he was eight.[3] He later learnt that his step-grandmother,Tatyana Petrenko-Samusenko, was a three-time Olympic foil champion for the USSR.[4]Foil was the only option offered at the club, but he later explained that foil is indeed his favourite weapon, being the more realistic and striking the best balance betweensabre's speed andépée's tactics.[5] His first coach was Dmitri Romankov, who also trained Belarusian fencerSiarhei Byk.[4]
Choupenitch's other favourite sports areassociation football andice hockey.[6] He also plays the piano. Choupenitch interrupted his studies at theMasaryk University inBrno to focus on sport, and gained a sponsorship fromRed Bull in 2015.[7]
At the beginning of the2013–14 season Choupenitch transferred from Sokol Brno to CS Fides inLivorno, Italy, to train under Paolo Paoletti.[8] He reached the final at theA Coruña World Cup before being defeated by China'sMa Jianfei and ended up with a silver medal.[9] His victory during the tournament over Olympic championAndrea Baldini encouraged him to believe he could become a champion in his own right.[5] A few weeks later, he lost againstMa Jianfei in theVenice Grand Prix, this time in the semi-final, and took a bronze medal.[10]
In the2014–15 season, Choupenitch won a silver medal at the Shanghai Grand Prix, losing in the final to the USA'sMiles Chamley-Watson.[11] He also represented the Czech Republic at the2024 Summer Olympics, earning a bronze medal.[12]
Choupenitch can speak Czech, English, Italian, and Russian.[1] He also releases rap music apart from fencing.[13]
| Year | Location | Event | Position |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 |  Tokyo,Japan | Individual Men's Foil | 3rd[14] |
| 2024 |  Paris,France | 3rd[12] |
| Year | Location | Event | Position |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2018 |  Novi Sad,Serbia | Individual Men's Foil | 3rd[15] |
| 2024 |  Basel,Switzerland | 3rd |
| Date | Location | Event | Position |
|---|---|---|---|
| 15 March 2014 |  Venice,Italy | Individual Men's Foil | 3rd[16] |
| 15 May 2015 |  Shanghai,China | 2nd[17] |
| Date | Location | Event | Position |
|---|---|---|---|
| 21 February 2014 |  A Coruña,Spain | Individual Men's Foil | 2nd[18] |
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
