Fares Arfa
{{Short description|Canadian fencer (born 1994)}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=April 2024}}
{{Infobox sportsperson
|name = Fares Arfa
|image =
|image_size = 150px
|caption =
|fullname =
|nicknames =
|nationality = {{CAN}}
|strokes =
|club =
|collegeteam = Ohio State University
|birth_date = {{Birth date and age|1994|10|16}}
|birth_place = Béjaïa, Algeria
|death_date =
|death_place =
|hometown = Laval, Quebec, Canada
|height = 188 cm
|weight = 90 kg
|sport = Fencing
|medaltemplates = {{MedalSport|Men's fencing}}
{{MedalCountry|{{CAN}}}}
{{MedalComp|Pan American Games}}
{{MedalGold|2023 Santiago|Team sabre}}
{{MedalSilver|2019 Lima|Team sabre}}
{{MedalBronze|2023 Santiago|Sabre}}
{{MedalComp|Pan American Fencing Championships}}
{{MedalSilver|2024 Lima|Team Sabre}}
{{MedalSilver|2023 Lima|Team sabre}}
{{MedalSilver|2022 Ascuncion|Team sabre}}
{{MedalSilver|2019 Toronto|Team sabre}}
{{MedalSilver|2018 Havana|Team sabre}}
{{MedalSilver|2017 Montreal|Team sabre}}
{{MedalBronze|2024 Lima|Sabre}}
{{MedalComp|Pan American Junior Fencing Championships}}
{{MedalGold|2014 Guatemala City|Sabre}}
}}
Fares Arfa (born October 16, 1994) is a Canadian fencer in the sabre discipline.{{cite web|title=Fares Arfa|url=https://olympic.ca/team-canada/fares-arfa/|website=Canadian Olympic Committee|access-date=14 April 2024}} Arfa has won multiple medals at the Pan American level.
Career
Arfa's first major international result came in 2014, when he won the gold medal at the Pan American Junior Fencing Championships in Guatemala City.{{cite web|url=https://ohiostatebuckeyes.com/news/2014/2/28/two-ohio-state-fencers-earn-gold-at-pan-am-junior-championships|title=Two Ohio State Fencers Earn Gold at Pan Am Junior Championships – Ohio State Buckeyes|date=28 February 2014|website=www.ohiostatebuckeyes.com/|publisher=Ohio State University|access-date=14 April 2024}} Arfa was part of the last five Pan American Fencing Championships sabre team who won the silver medal, losing to the United States each time.{{cite news|language=French|trans-title=Farès Arfa in constant progress|date=10 May 2023|title=Farès Arfa en constante progression|url=https://courrierlaval.com/en/fares-arfa-constante-progression-escrime-laval/|work=Laval Courier|location=Laval, Quebec|access-date=14 April 2024}} At the 2022 World Fencing Championships in Cairo, Egypt, Arfa finished 16th in the individual event, the highest placing for Arfa at the event.{{cite news|trans-title=Farès Arfa proud of his 16th place at the World Championships|language=French|date=18 July 2022|title=Farès Arfa fier de sa 16e place aux Championnats du monde|url=https://ici.radio-canada.ca/sports/1898954/escrime-championnats-monde-egypte-fares-arfa-16eplace|work=Radio Canada|location=Montreal, Quebec, Canada|access-date=14 April 2024}}
=Pan American Games=
Arfa has won a medal of each colour at the Pan American Games. Arfa made his Pan American Games debut at the 2019 Pan American Games in Lima, Peru, where he won the silver medal in the team sabre event. Four years later Arfa was named to his second Pan American Games team.{{cite press release|orig-date=6 September 2023|title=Canada’s Santiago 2023 fencing team announced|url=https://olympic.ca/press/canadas-santiago-2023-fencing-team-announced/|location=Toronto, Ontario, Canada|publisher=Canadian Olympic Committee|access-date=14 April 2024}} At the 2023 Pan American Games, Arfa won the gold medal in the men's team sabre event and the bronze medal in the individual event.{{cite web|url=https://www.panamsports.org/en/news-sport/brazil-and-canada-claim-the-final-gold-medals-in-fencing/|title=Brazil and Canada Claim the Final Gold Medals in Fencing|date=4 November 2023|website=www.panamsports.org/|publisher=Panam Sports|access-date=14 April 2024}}
=2024 Olympics=
In 2024, Arfa helped Canada qualify a sabre team for the 2024 Summer Olympics for the first time since 1996.{{cite news|trans-title=Paris 2024 : découvrez Farès Arfa|language=French|date=2 April 2024|title=Paris 2024: discover Farès Arfa|url=https://ici.radio-canada.ca/info/videos/1-8915893/paris-2024-decouvrez-fares-arfa|work=Radio Canada|location=Montreal, Quebec, Canada|access-date=14 April 2024}}{{cite news|language=French|trans-title=Farès Arfa and the Canadian sabers qualified for the Olympics|title=Farès Arfa et les sabreurs canadiens qualifiés pour les JO|url=https://courrierlaval.com/en/fares-arfa-et-les-sabreurs-canadiens-qualifies-pour-les-jo/|work=Laval Courier|location=Laval, Quebec|access-date=14 April 2024}} Arfa was officially named to Canada's 2024 Olympic team in April 2024.{{cite web|last=Fenton|first=Caela|title=Team Canada announces fencing team for Paris 2024|url=https://olympic.ca/2024/04/25/team-canada-announces-fencing-team-for-paris-2024/|publisher=Canadian Olympic Committee|date=25 April 2024|access-date=11 May 2024}}{{cite web|last=Nerestant|first=Antoni|url=https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/montreal/fencing-olympics-quebec-athletes-history-paris-1.7184867|title=29 Olympics, no medals? No problem. Quebec-led fencing squad hungry for history|date=26 April 2024|website=www.cbc.ca/sports/|publisher=CBC News|access-date=11 May 2024}} In the first round of the men's individual sabre competition, Arfa defeated three-time reigning Olympic champion Áron Szilágyi of Hungary by 15-8, serving Szilágyi his first Olympic defeat since 2008.{{Cite web |date=2024-07-27 |title=Historic Olympic streak ends in a shock upset as Hungarian fencer Aron Szilagyi is finally beaten |url=https://www.kgw.com/article/sports/olympics/historic-olympic-streak-ends-shock-upset-fencing/507-f4991d0a-d86b-4c09-ae80-ea4605ff16f0 |access-date=2024-07-27 |website=kgw.com |language=en-US}} He then won his second round match against Boladé Apithy of France by 15-8 before falling in the quarterfinal 13-15 to the South Korean former world champion and eventual gold medalist Oh Sang-uk.{{Cite web |agency=The Canadian Press |date=2024-07-27 |title=Canadian fencer Arfa stopped in quarterfinal after upset win over defending champ |url=https://www.thestar.com/sports/olympics-and-paralympics/canadian-fencer-arfa-stopped-in-quarterfinal-after-upset-win-over-defending-champ/article_b0137408-a8f1-56d9-9009-b54fa67da083.html |access-date=2024-07-27 |website=Toronto Star |language=en}}
References
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Category:Pan American Games gold medalists for Canada
Category:Pan American Games silver medalists for Canada
Category:Pan American Games bronze medalists for Canada
Category:Fencers at the 2023 Pan American Games
Category:Sportspeople from Laval, Quebec
Category:Pan American Games medalists in fencing
Category:Medalists at the 2023 Pan American Games
Category:Canadian people of Algerian descent
Category:Medalists at the 2019 Pan American Games
Category:Fencers at the 2019 Pan American Games
Category:Canadian male sabre fencers
Category:21st-century Canadian sportsmen