Filipino-American sabre fencer Mitchell Saron is set to compete for the United States at his first-ever Olympic games this summer in Paris.

USA Fencing in its website confirmed his qualification for both the men’s sabre individual and team categories at the 2024 Olympics, pending final approval by the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee.

Saron has won international and national fencing tournaments, including at the Men’s Sabre World Cup in Budapest in March.

He said he is grateful and excited for the opportunity to compete with Team USA in the coming Olympics.

Saron’s Filipino mother Bea arrived in New York City from the Philippines when she was a teenager.

His grandfather was a World War II Fil-Am veteran who served in the U.S. Army. His Filipino great-grandfather, meanwhile, was a swordsman in the Philippines.

Saron grew up eating his mother's home-cooked Filipino food like lumpia, pancit, adobo, and lechon kawali. He shared that his favorite is sisig.  

The 23-year-old Harvard University fencer started fencing at the age of nine in his hometown of Ridgewood, New Jersey.

Saron is currently focusing on his training for the upcoming Olympic Games.