06/10/2026
🇦🇷HEADLINE: Historic milestone for Argentine fencing: young Bernardita Carceller conquers bronze in Las Vegas
LAS VEGAS, USA – Bernardita “Tini” Carceller, just 13 years old, achieved an unprecedented milestone for Argentine fencing by winning the bronze medal at the prestigious USA Fencing SJCC (Super Junior Cadet Circuit) tournament, held this weekend in Las Vegas.
Competing in a highly demanding category, Carceller faced fencers aged 16 and 17, many of whom hold top positions in the United States national rankings. The tournament featured an elite field of 143 competitors, including international delegations from China, South Korea, and Canada.
The key match was the quarter-finals for the bronze medal, where Tini had to face the #2 seed Pinar Yilmaz, a 16-year-old from Texas. While Yilmaz led 5-3 over Carceller in the first period, Tini stormed back with 4 points in a row to take command of the bout, keeping control over her older opponent until she won 15-9. In the semi-finals, Tini’s stunning run came to an end in a very close 14-15 loss to her close friend Adriana Ferreira De Melo, whose father is also Argentinian.
“Really my goal was to reach the Top 32 in the event so I could get ranking points. I had no expectation to reach the semi-finals or be in medal contention. So I was pretty surprised and happy,” said Carceller, who goes by “Tini” to all her friends and coaches. She trains at Epee Miami Fencing Club since she started fencing at 7-years old, with her coaches Junior Morales and Yamara Escalante.
With this result, “Tini” became the youngest fencer from Argentina to medal in history in a US national cadet category tournament, while also setting a record as the first Argentine representative to achieve this feat. In addition to the medal, the athlete earned vital points to climb up the US circuit rankings.
Carceller continues to solidify her status as one of the discipline's greatest prospects, proudly representing the Argentine national team in the most competitive international circuits in the world.
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