This past weekend, Marcus competed in Bonn, Germany at the first world cup of the 2022 - 2023 season. After a 4-2 record in the pool round, he fenced against Fabian Braun of Germany (one of his two losses in the pool) and won 15-7. After a 15-9 victory against Roey Rosenfeld of Israel, Marcus was qualified for the top 64 on day 2.

Seeded 48th, Marcus’ first-round opponent was Guilherme Toldo of Brazil. His previous record against Toldo was 3-5 going into the match but managed a 15-9 win this bout. After two close matches against Kwanghyun Lee and Gyeongmu Kim, both of South Korea, Marcus was on to the top 8.

In the top 8, Marcus fenced against Mohamed Hamza of Egypt. Hamza was Marcus’ first-round opponent in the Tokyo Olympics where the Egyptian secured a 15-13 victory and went on the make the top 8. Through another tough matchup, this time Marcus was able to lock down a 15-13 win of his own to earn a career first world cup medal round appearance.

In the semi-finals, Marcus was up against 2018 individual world champion Alessio Foconi of Italy. Marcus took a small lead at the beginning of the match, with Foconi tieing the score at 5-5, before taking a small lead of his own at the end of the first period. With increased intensity in the second period, Foconi went on to win the match 15-8.

Congratulations to Marcus and to Coach Dan on a fantastic opener to the international circuit. With this result, Marcus is currently ranked #17 in the world!

Read more about Marcus’ medal winning performance over at British Fencing