University of Notre Dame men's fencing freshman Candeniz Berrak made history on Friday, November 13, in Dakar, Senegal, becoming the first Youth Olympic Champion in both Türkiye and Notre Dame fencing program history.
Berrak rebounded from three losses in pool play to dominate Aibar Kayim from Kazakhstan 15-6 in the gold medal match.
“My goal was to win all of my bouts,” Berrak told Olympics.com after finishing the pool stage with three wins and three losses. “I think there wasn’t a good victory to be honest, but just follow me. Today I will win.”