Ahmed Hesham stood on a makeshift raised strip in Purcell Pavilion, in front of a roaring crowd, one point away from a national championship. Family, fencers and spectators from the best collegiate programs in the country, some of whom boast Olympic or World Championship medals, looked on.
Hesham stood the en garde line with his saber ready, darting over the line at the word “fence.” Dropping his saber down and using his 6-foot-3 frame to his advantage, Hesham lunged at his opponent and just tipped their shoulder with his extended blade. In that moment, he turned and dropped his golden helmet, celebrating as an NCAA national champion.
Hesham, a sophomore, secured the title of 2026 Men’s Sabre NCAA Champion and the hardware that comes with it.
Hesham fenced against 23 other sabre fencers in 5-touch bouts before he found himself entering the final ranked No. 3. No. 1 sophomore William Morrill (Columbia University), No. 2 sophomore Colin Heathcock (Harvard) and No. 4 senior Adham Moataz (St. John’s) rounded out the bracket, with the first to 15 touches in each match to win. While fencing against Heathcock, despite raucous cheers from the Harvard women’s fencing team throughout the bout, Hesham made a historic comeback. After taking a short rest and watching fellow teammates, senior foilist Chase Emmer and freshman epeeist Kruz Schembri, take second in their respective brackets, Hesham came back chasing the gold, not only for himself but for his team.
Hesham fenced against Moataz in the championship, a bout the world has seen quite a few times during their careers and in practice, as the two both represent Egypt on the international stage. Moataz came out strong, forcing Hesham to change his fencing plan and adapt quickly. Hesham bested his international teammate 15-12.
Post-championship bout, Hesham said, “It feels great to be a national champion … especially [in front of] the biggest home crowd [he’s] seen.” Not only was he gushing about his experience during this championship, but also about his overall time at Notre Dame, noting this is the “most hardworking team in the country, and everyone, whether they fence or not, put in the effort.”
Winning the national championship was monumental for Hesham’s collegiate career, following his 15-5 victory over Elden Wood (University of North Carolina) to claim the 2026 ACC Men’s Individual Sabre title earlier this year. This year’s campaign in itself was a revenge run for Hesham after winning silver at the 2025 ACC Men’s Individual Sabre competition and bronze at the NCAA Championships; Hesham also earned First Team All-American honors and All-ACC academic honors during that time.
Although he has been training with the Irish and is currently in the middle of his collegiate years, Hesham works hard to maintain his international fencing rank, participating in a handful of Grand Prix and World Championships. Only nine weeks ago, he was in Tunisia participating in the Tunis Grand Prix, taking home bronze, his second Grand Prix decoration and third consecutive medal of the season. In December 2025, he won the Youth Sabre Fencing World Cup in Germany and placed third at the Grand Prix in Orleans, France. Additionally, before the academic year started, Hesham competed in his first senior world championships in Tbilisi, Georgia, where he earned bronze, and in the African Fencing Championships in Lagos, Nigeria, where he won gold. His 2026 NCAA runner-up took second.
While Hesham has finished his sophomore year competitions, to maintain his world ranking, he will soon begin traveling again to continue earning points for Egypt. Although no schedule has been solidified, Hesham is sure to find international success after dominating the NCAA.
