“Officially headed to my fifth Olympics!” - Gerek Meinhardt looks back at his Olympics journey ahead of heading for Paris 2024

2019 fencing world champion Gerek Meinhardt recalled his Olympic journey ahead of marching to Paris 2024 with his team. The 33-year-old is all set to embark on his fifth Olympics participation as a member of Team USA. Meinhardt achieved the feat after competing at the D.C Foil Grand Prix, scheduled from March 15 to 17.

On Sunday, Meinhardt qualified officially for the Paris Olympics along with Alexander Massialas. Moreover, fencers Miles Chamley-Watson and Nick Itckin will also continue their respective Olympics streak in Paris. The four-member team has been competing since the 2012 London Olympics. Together, they have bagged bronze medals twice in the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympics, and 2020 Tokyo Olympics.

Looking back at his Olympic journey with his team, Gerek Meinhardt shared an X (formerly known as Twitter) posy. The clip contained his solo picture from the 2008 Beijing Olympics when he was the youngest fencer in that championship and the youngest U.S. Olympic fencer ever.

Moreover, the video had his four-member team's images from 2012, 2016 and 2020. Besides the video, the three-time individual Pan American champion announced that he is “Officially headed to my fifth Olympics.” He wrote

"Officially headed to my fifth Olympics!"

He added,

"Couldn’t be prouder to represent my country another time at the Games. Been a long journey and so appreciative of my friends, family, and everyone who’s supported and cheered for me through the ups and downs that come with fencing."

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Gerek Meinhardt began pursuing his medical degree at 30

Gerek Meinhardt’s wife and Olympic fencer Lee Keifer inspired him to pursue his ambition of getting a medical degree. At first, the American fencer, who had an MBA degree, was hesitant to enter a field at a senior age.

In an interview with Olympics.com, Meinhardt shared that he was doubtful of switching to medicine as a 30-year-old making him older than the rest of his classmates. However, the fencer convinced himself eventually. He told:

“I did some shadowing and speaking with the physicians about what their lives were like, pros and cons and eventually decided, with their help, that I shouldn’t worry about making a change too late in my life, even though I was going to be a non-traditional student and a bit older than my classmates.”

Gerek Meinhardt became confident with his decision during the Covid-19 pandemic. It was the best time for him to start his medical venture as he had a break from competing at championships. He enrolled at the University of Kentucky to begin his journey.