Seth Kelsey    (Brush Prairie, WA)

Event: Men’s Epee
Hometown: Brush Prairie, Wash.
Height: 6-4
Weight: 200
Birthdate: August 24, 1981 (Santa Monica, Calif.)
High School: Oregon Episcopal School, ’99
College: U.S. Air Force Academy, ’03
Club: New York Athletic Club
Coaches: Janusz Peciak, Paul Soter

Career Highlights: Bronze, Senior “A” World Cup, Tallin, Estonia, January 2004
2002 U.S. National Champion
Bronze, Senior “A” World Cup, Havana, Cuba, June 2003

"How I Started Fencing" Went with a friend to check out fencing practice in Oregon at Salle Olney, one of the country’s oldest fencing clubs.

Finest Moment: At a World Cup in Estonia, where he won the bronze. Seth says his greatest strength as a fencer is his mental toughness. “It’s almost impossible to break me mentally,” he says. “Four years at the Academy definitely helped. It’s a pretty demanding school, and to be able to put up with everything makes you stronger.”

Did You Know? Seth is a 2nd Lieutenant in the Air Force, assigned to the World Class Athlete program, in which 20 of the military’s best athletes are supported, enabling them to train and compete for two-year rotations.Seth graduated with a degree in behavioral science from the Air Force Academy in 2003. After fencing, Seth will serve the Air Force as a services officer, running any of the dozens of support systems such as the daycares, chow halls, gyms, golf courses, even mortuaries. “That’s interesting to me. We keep the troops well-fed and ready to fight. I’m looking forward to that when fencing over.”As fencing is part of their regimen, he trains with the Modern Pentathletes in Colorado Springs. “They train every day in five sports,” he says. “It puts fencing in perspective!” When he’s not fencing, swimming or running, Seth works on his house or practices his cooking.