OH MAIA: Maia Chamberlain shouts for joy after a win during her Princeton University fencing career. Chamberlain ’22 will be making her Olympic debut as she competes for the U.S. women’s saber team this week in the Paris Games. The women’s saber team event is scheduled for August 1 at the Grand Palais in Paris. (Photo provided courtesy of Princeton Athletics)

By Bill Alden

Competing in her first national fencing competition as a 9-year-old, Maia Chamberlain was a bit spooked by the cacophony of hollering she encountered at the San Jose Convention Center.

“Fencing is like a whole other ballgame, you don’t realize how much people scream in fencing; it is a very loud sport,” said Chamberlain. “I walked in and the whole venue was just like people screaming their heads off for the touch. The first thought I had walking in there was, ‘I am in a murder house?’ It feels like people are killing each other, that is what it sounds like.”

Undeterred, Chamberlain killed it in the competition, taking third in the U-10 saber in a harbinger of things to come. Over the years, Chamberlain moved up the national ladder, excelling in national competitions and placing second in U20 women’s saber at the 2016 Junior World Cup.

Chamberlain, a native of Menlo Park, Calif., came east to Princeton University in 2016 and took third in the saber in the NCAA Championships as a freshman and won the national title the next year. Taking a two-year hiatus from college in an ultimately futile attempt to make the U.S. squad for the Tokyo Olympics, Chamberlain returned to Princeton where she took third in the NCAA saber as a senior and was a finalist for the C. Otto von Kienbusch Award, which is given to Princeton’s top senior woman athlete.

Building on that senior season, Chamberlain renewed her drive to make the Olympics and succeeded this time, earning a spot on the U.S. women’s saber team for the Paris 2024 Olympics. She will be making her Olympic debut on August 1 when the team event is held at the fencing strip at the Grand Palais.

It didn’t take long for Chamberlain to establish herself as a fencing prodigy as she stood out when she was introduced to the sport at a saber camp when she was nine.

“It really clicked for me, I was already fighting people with my sabers and wooden sticks before that,” said Chamberlain, who had been focusing on tennis at the time. “It came pretty naturally to me I would say. After that one week, my coach said to my parents she is the only girl who lasted this entire week and she is doing really well among the boys too so she should really stick with it.”

She decided to stick with saber instead of trying her hand at either foil or épée, the two other weapons in the sport.

“The saber one looks cool in that the guard connects to the bottom like what you would see in pirates’ swords whereas in foil and épée, the guard just looks like kind of a circle,” said Chamberlain. “In foil and épée there is a button at the end of the tip and that is how you guarantee that you poke someone. You trip that buzzer with a certain amount of force. Whereas with saber, the whole metal blade is conductive. I can hit you anywhere where my metal blade touches your metal jacket as long as that closes the loop. You get the point with any amount of force, you can tap people very lightly or not.”

Enjoying success on the national scene, Chamberlain set her sights on competing at the college level.

“Once I started competing domestically more regularly, step by step I realized that I reached a level where I can get recruited to college,” said Chamberlain. “I started hunkering down sophomore and junior year. I went from going to practice twice a week to going four times a week and that was enough to qualify for the Cadet national team. The national team goes to World Championships and that is like a nice honor. It looks great on your resume or transcript.”

While Chamberlain was initially leaning toward attending nearby Stanford where her club trained, she decided it was too close to home and headed to Princeton.

“I thought Princeton had the best balance between academics and athletics,” said Chamberlain. “I like the protocol where there are no classes during practice. I would not miss any class requirements to be part of a sports team. When I was considering all of that, Princeton turned out to be the best.”

It didn’t take long for Chamberlain to bond with her Tiger teammates. “The transition to Princeton for the fencing was not bad at all,” said Chamberlain. “The thing with fencing is that it is such a small niche sport, so I kind of knew the people going in. Everyone knows each other, the community is small. It was easy to get along, they had the same experiences I went through.”

That closeness resulted in a special camaraderie in competition. “I love college fencing,” said Chamberlain. “Collegiate fencing is so team-oriented, it is an individual sport normally. If I win, it might be at the expense of someone else not winning whereas in college, everyone wins. I found that so lovely. You really support your teammates and I found that really powerful myself.”

Feeding on that support, Chamberlain took third in the NCAA saber event as a freshman.

“I was pretty strong at collegiate style competitions, they were different from the domestic or international events,” said Chamberlain. “Most collegiate events are to five points instead of 15 so throughout the entire season, I had a very high win percentage. If I stayed consistent with that, I knew I could get into the top four for the NCAAs. It was a great confidence boost.”

A year later, Chamberlain took two steps up the podium, winning the NCAA saber title.

“I felt like I knew what to expect a little more, having that I was able to make it happen,” said Chamberlain. “It is so lovely when I list most of my athletic accomplishments, being NCAA champion is the most recognizable, especially in the states. It is a huge honor to be one of the few who are able to carry that trophy home. I am really glad to say that I am at least a one-time NCAA champion. I am so grateful.”

Looking to build on that success, Chamberlain decided to take a two-year hiatus from Princeton to concentrate on making the U.S. squad for the Tokyo Olympics.

“I was on a hot streak after my sophomore year, I won NCAA, and I won a national competition directly after that,” said Chamberlain. “My parents and I talked and it was OK, we are in a good set-up to try to qualify for the Tokyo Olympics. The issue was that I didn’t have too much international fencing experience. I had been to some World Cup events but I hadn’t done a full circuit. A full circuit is pretty taxing because you have two competitions a month and you are going to different countries. It would be super disruptive if I was still in school.”

But that hot streak ended as Chamberlain suffered an ankle injury that derailed her first World Cup campaign. Bouncing back from that, Chamberlain was starting to get back in the groove but then the COVID-19 pandemic lockdown halted her progress.

“It was super formative for me, I really learned a lot in those two years,” said Chamberlain. “It took me a while to bounce back from that injury just because that was the first time I have ever gotten my confidence shaken. The first season ended up being a humbling moment.”

Returning to Princeton to finish her college career, Chamberlain enjoyed a superb senior campaign, making another big NCAA run.

“I was ready to go back, I wanted to graduate somewhat soon,” said Chamberlain, an architecture major. “I was ready to be done and at least know people who were going to graduate. I made the most out of it, I had a fantastic time. I came in the top three for the NCAA, I am proud of that result.”

Buoyed by that result, Chamberlain decided to make a second attempt at earning a spot in the Olympics. She moved to New York City to focus on training at the Manhattan Fencing Center. She also got back on the World Cup circuit to compete in domestic and international qualifiers. In order to make the U.S. squad, a fencer has to rank in the top four in points in the country in his or her weapon.

“I executed the plan that I originally intended, “ said Chamberlain. “I was able to qualify for World Championships for the Olympic season. I got my experience in and got my Olympic seeding consistent and strong. I am really happy that all of the work paid off.”

In May, Chamberlain learned that her spot on the U.S. women’s saber team was confirmed.

“There are so many emotions,” said Chamberlain, reflecting on getting that news. “It comes with excitement and pride that I made it this far. It is also the anxiety that it will be the biggest crowds I have ever been in front of.”

Chamberlain is confident she can overcome that anxiety. “I like fencing because you are fully covered,” said Chamberlain. “They can’t see my face very clearly, and I can’t see theirs. I have stage fright and I am a little camera shy.”

With the saber team’s roster including Magda Skarbonkiewicz, Elizabeth Tartakovsky, and rising Princeton sophomore Tatiana Nazlymov in addition to Chamberlain, she believes that utilizing the camaraderie that characterizes college fencing could make the difference for the squad.

“The key to getting gold is believing in each other,” said Chamberlain. “I really enjoyed my college experience where it was unconditional support. If we just bring that to the team then that kind of positive reinforcement will bring out the best in each other. In terms of technical things, it is just staying consistent, having a plan, and following that plan. Ultimately the event is kind of like a relay race. You just have to focus on your leg. Once you are finished with your leg, you pass on to your teammate and just hope that they are thinking of doing their best.”

No matter how things go in Paris, Chamberlain is looking to stay in fencing.

“I haven’t hit my peak yet, I would say fencers normally peak in their mid-to late 20s,” said Chamberlain, 26. “I feel like I finally understood what I had to do and that I am just getting better and better throughout. I just talked to my coach about this and he actually said the same thing – I feel like you are only getting better. I want to see how far I can take it in this sport. We will see. I would like to put my architecture degree to use. I just love design in general. I would love to do that but you have your whole life to work. I might lay off fencing for the next two years and then get back into it.”