Anne Cebula

{{short description|American fencer and model}}

{{use mdy dates|date=July 2024}}

{{use American English|date=July 2024}}

{{Infobox fencer

| name = Anne Cebula

| birth_date = {{birth date and age|1998|7|3}}

| birth_place = Brooklyn, New York City, New York

| country = {{USA}}

}}

Anne Cebula ({{IPAc-en|s|ə|ˈ|b|uː|l|ə}} {{respell|sə|BOO|lə}}; born July 3, 1998){{cite web |url=https://olympics.com/en/paris-2024/athlete/anne-cebula_1950570|title=CEBULA Anne |date=2024 |website=Olympics.com |access-date=8 August 2024}} is an American épée fencer and model. She competed in the 2024 Summer Olympics.{{cite news |last1=Goodman |first1=Eric |title=Anne Cebula is dressed to kill from fencing strip to fashion week |url=https://www.nbcolympics.com/news/anne-cebula-dressed-kill-fencing-strip-fashion-week |access-date=31 July 2024 |work=NBC Olympics |date=May 20, 2024 |language=en}}{{cite magazine |last1=Calfee |first1=Joel |title=Anne Cebula and Magda Skarbonkiewicz Are Fencing Their Way Into Their First Olympics |url=https://www.harpersbazaar.com/celebrity/sports-athletes/a61287673/anne-cebula-magda-skarbonkiewicz-2024-olympics-interview/ |access-date=31 July 2024 |magazine=Harper's Bazaar |date=15 July 2024}}{{cite news |last1=Hendricks |first1=Jaclyn |title=How fencer Anne Cebula is savoring Olympics 'childhood dream' |url=https://nypost.com/2024/07/25/sports/how-fencer-anne-cebula-is-savoring-olympics-childhood-dream/ |access-date=31 July 2024 |work=New York Post |date=25 July 2024}}{{cite news |last1=Jackson |first1=Hannah |title=Team USA Fencer Anne Cebula Brings Us Along for the 2024 Olympics Opening Ceremony |url=https://www.vogue.com/slideshow/anne-cebula-team-usa-fencer-2024-olympics-opening-ceremony-diary |access-date=31 July 2024 |work=Vogue |date=29 July 2024}}

A Brooklyn native daughter of Polish immigrants, Anne Cebula began fencing at the age of fifteen, at Brooklyn Technical High School. She saw the sport for the first time on television when she was 10 years old, after watching USA's Keeth Smart win the last team match against Russia at the Beijing 2008 Olympics. Her parents did not allow her to pursue it because of the costs.{{Cite web |last=Aponte |first=Claudia Irizarry |date=2024-07-10 |title=En Garde: Two New York Olympic Fencers Are on The Path to Paris |url=https://www.thecity.nyc/2024/07/10/fencing-cebula-scruggs-olympics-paris/ |access-date=2025-02-25 |website=THE CITY - NYC News |language=en-US}}

One of the reasons she chose Brooklyn Tech was because of their free fencing club.{{Cite web |title=On Point |url=https://barnard.edu/magazine/spring-2024/point |access-date=2025-02-25 |website=Barnard Magazine |language=en}}

After showing potential, her high school coach, Bert Yaged, recommended that she try a summer camp at any club in the city.{{Cite web |last=Staff |first=Brooklyn Eagle |date=2024-06-03 |title=Anne Cebula will speak with her sword |url=https://brooklyneagle.com/articles/2024/06/03/anne-cebula-will-speak-with-her-sword/ |access-date=2025-02-25 |website=Brooklyn Eagle |language=en-US}}

She did a week-long day camp at Fencers Club in 2013, where she met coach Kornel Udvarhelyi.{{Cite web |url=https://first-to-15.simplecast.com/episodes/anne-cebula-laQligTm/transcript |access-date=2025-02-25 |website=first-to-15.simplecast.com}} She worked with him until he moved to Boston in 2021.{{Cite web |title=Best Fencing Club Coaches Massachusetts |url=https://www.vivofencingclub.com/coaches#KornelUdvarhelyi |access-date=2025-02-25 |website=Vivo Fencing Club |language=en-US}}

After transferring from Fordham University to Barnard College during the second semester of her sophomore year, she walked onto Columbia University's fencing team.{{Cite web |title=Anne Cebula - Fencing |url=https://gocolumbialions.com/sports/fencing/roster/anne-cebula/13052 |access-date=2025-02-25 |website=Columbia University Athletics |language=en}} She qualified for the US Junior Team and attended Junior World Championships 2018 in Verona, Italy that semester.{{Cite web |title=2018 Junior & Cadet World Championship Teams |url=https://www.usafencing.org/2018-junior-cadet-world-championship-teams |access-date=2025-02-25 |website=www.usafencing.org |language=en}}

Her junior year, she won NCAA Championships in Individual Women's Epee and in Overall Team. This made her the first Barnard College student in school history to win an individual national title in any sport.{{Cite web |title=Meet Barnard's Student Athletes: Fencer Anne Cebula '20 |url=https://barnard.edu/news/meet-barnards-student-athletes-fencer-anne-cebula-20 |access-date=2025-02-25 |website=Barnard College |language=en}}

The team won the Women's Ivy League Fencing Championships in 2018, 2019, and 2020. During her senior year, she qualified again for NCAA Championships, but it was cancelled due to the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic.{{Cite web |title=NCAA men's and women's fencing committee selects championships participants {{!}} NCAA.com |url=https://www.ncaa.com/news/fencing/article/2020-03-10/ncaa-mens-and-womens-fencing-committee-selects-championships |access-date=2025-02-25 |website=www.ncaa.com |language=en}}{{Cite web |title=NCAA cancels remaining 2020 winter and spring championships |url=https://www.ncaa.com/news/basketball-men/article/2020-03-12/ncaa-cancels-remaining-2020-winter-and-spring-championships |access-date=2025-02-25 |website=www.ncaa.com |language=en}} She graduated in May 2020, majoring in Neuroscience & Behavior.{{Cite web |title=Lions & Titles & Bears |url=https://barnard.edu/magazine/summer-2019/lions-titles-bears |access-date=2025-02-25 |website=Barnard Magazine |language=en}} Anne began working with coach Sergey Danilov in 2021 in preparation for the Olympic Games.{{Cite web |date=2018-12-13 |title=SERGEY DANILOV, NYFA-LI HEAD COACH |url=https://fencenyfa.com/coaches/sergey-danilov-epee-coach/ |access-date=2025-02-25 |website=NEW YORK FENCING ACADEMY |language=en-US}}

She finished as the highest ranked American in women's epee on May 1, 2024, qualifying for both the individual and team events.{{Cite web |date=2024-05-01 |title=USA Fencing Announces Full Roster for Olympic Games Paris 2024 |url=https://www.usafencing.org/news/2024/may/01/usa-fencing-announces-full-roster-for-olympic-games-paris-2024 |access-date=2025-02-25 |website=www.usafencing.org |language=en}}

{{Cite web |title=Brooklyn fencer Anne Cebula heading to 2024 Paris Olympic Games |url=https://ny1.com/nyc/all-boroughs/CTV/2024/05/19/brooklyn-fencer--anne-cebula--heads-to-olympics |access-date=2025-02-25 |website=ny1.com |language=en}}{{Cite web |title=New York fencer returns from 2024 Olympic Games |url=https://spectrumlocalnews.com/nc/triad/CTV/2024/08/18/new-york-fencer-returns-from-2024-olympics |access-date=2025-02-25 |website=spectrumlocalnews.com |language=en}}

In the individual event, she won her first match 15-14 against Rossella Fiamingo (three time Olympic medalist; eventual 2024 Olympic gold medalist in team).{{Cite web |title=INTERNATIONAL FENCING FEDERATION - The International Fencing Federation official website |url=https://fie.org/competitions/2024/241?tab=results |access-date=2025-02-25 |website=INTERNATIONAL FENCING FEDERATION - The International Fencing Federation official website}} She lost her next match 13-15 against Auriane Mallo-Breton Olympic silver medalist in both individual and team). This resulted in her 13th place finish.

In the team event, she went +2 overall against Poland, but the overall team score ended at a loss, 29-31.The team fenced in the back bracket for placement and ended in 7th place.{{Cite web |title=INTERNATIONAL FENCING FEDERATION - The International Fencing Federation official website |url=https://fie.org/competitions/2024/247?tab=results |access-date=2025-02-25 |website=INTERNATIONAL FENCING FEDERATION - The International Fencing Federation official website}}

While training, Anne worked as a professional model through Elite Model Management. She has worked with Khaite, Tory Burch, and Marc Jacobs - opening for him during the F/W 22 season.{{Cite web |title=Anne Cebula - Model |url=https://models.com/models/anne-cebula |access-date=2025-02-25 |website=MODELS.com}}{{Cite web |title=Marc Jacobs F/W 22 Show (Marc Jacobs) |url=https://models.com/work/marc-jacobs-marc-jacobs-fw-22-show |access-date=2025-02-25 |website=MODELS.com}}{{Cite web |date=2024-09-05 |title=Brooklyn fashion model shines in Paris — but for fencing |url=https://www.crainsnewyork.com/gotham-gigs/model-anne-cebula-fences-team-usa-paris-olympics |access-date=2025-02-25 |website=Crain's New York Business |language=en}}