Cheyenne Fencing Society & Modern Pentathlon Center of Denver teaches kids and adults ages 4 to 104 to handle an epee sword, just for fun or to enter fencing competitions. Lead by three-time Olympian Elaine Cheris, our fencing classes in Denver, CO, allow children to explore their hero-pirate-warrior fantasies as they block, parry and attack their way through lessons. In addition to bringing imagi
nary adventures to life, our fencing lessons also help children develop discipline and improve their self-esteem and physical fitness. Fencing training also helps kids to think, act and respond for themselves and see the direct outcome of their actions instantly. In addition to fencing classes, our center also offers training in modern pentathlon. A sporting event composed of five different elements; pentathlon begins with fencing before requiring competitors to show proficiency in swimming, horseback riding, running, and shooting. Members of the club, under the tutelage of Elaine, have won medals nationally and competed internationally in Modern Pentathlon. Owner, Elaine Cheris is passionate about this sport and works closely with Team USA - Modern Pentathlon to encourage promising young athletes. More about owner Elaine Cheris
Cheris began fencing at 29 years of age. Cheris qualified for the 1980 U.S. Olympic team, but did not compete due to the U.S. Olympic Committee's boycott of the 1980 Summer Olympics in Moscow, Russia. She was one of 461 athletes to receive a Congressional Gold Medal instead. She did compete for the United States in the 1988 Summer Olympics in Seoul in foil at the age of 42 (she was knocked out by Italian silver medalist Laura Chiesa, 15-13), and in the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta in epee at the age of 50 (the second-oldest female US Olympic fencer ever, after Maxine Mitchell). Cheris was an alternate in the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney, having missed making the team by one touch. Cheris won an individual silver medal and a team gold medal at the 1981 Maccabiah Games. At the end of the 1985 season, she was the Number 1 US female foil fencer at age 39. She won a gold medal in team foil at the 1987 Pan American Games, and a gold medal in team epee at the 1991 Pan American Games. Cheris was inducted into the Colorado Sports Hall of Fame in 1983. In 1993, the Fédération Internationale d'Escrime awarded her its Gold Medal of Honor. She founded this fencing club the Cheyenne Fencing Society and Modern Pentathlon Center of Denver in Denver, Colorado. Cheris has authored Fencing: Steps to Success (2002).
