Emily Jacobson
Encyclopedia
Emily Phillipa Jacobson (born December 2, 1985, in Dunwoody, Georgia
) is an American sabre
fencer
.
She is the younger sister of fellow U.S. Olympic team fencer Sada Jacobson
, born in February 1983. She also has a younger sister, Jackie, who was born February 26, 1989, who is also a world-class fencer.
Jacobson graduated from The Westminster Schools
in Atlanta, Georgia
, in 2004.
She started attending Columbia University
in the fall of 2004, where she is a psychology major.
in sabre at the 2001 World Junior Team Championships.
She was ranked No. 2 in 2003 among female junior and senior U.S. saber fencers (her sister Sada was No. 1).
She won a bronze medal
at the 2003 Pan American Games
.
She won a bronze medal at a World Cup in Havana, Cuba, in June 2003, and a silver medal at a World Cup in Budapest, Hungary, in March 2004.
She then captured two gold medal
s at the 2004 Junior World Championships, becoming World Junior Champion, in both the team and individual events.
, Emily competed for the U.S. at the 2004 Olympics in the inaugural women's saber event in Athens—a feat that she views as her greatest achievement in fencing at that point in time. She reached the Round of 16, where she lost to Leonore Perrus of France, 15-13.
After high school she ranked 2nd nationally, and 11th in the world.
Jacobson was the 2005 NCAA Champion. In 2004–05 she was 27–3 overall.
She ranked 3rd in the nation, and 8th in the world, in sabre during the season.
She won the women’s sabre title at the North American Cup, and secured the silver medal
in sabre at the IFA
Championships.
She finished 2nd in the nation at sabre at the 2006 NCAA Championships, winning 19 of 23 bouts. She was 31–2 during the 2005–06 season.
Jacobson placed 8th at the 2006 North American Cup. She captured the silver medal at the 2006 Regionals, to finish 1st overall at sabre.
).
Dunwoody, Georgia
Dunwoody is a city located in DeKalb County, Georgia, United States. It is a northern suburb of Atlanta. Dunwoody became incorporated as a city on December 1, 2008...
) is an American sabre
Sabre
The sabre or saber is a kind of backsword that usually has a curved, single-edged blade and a rather large hand guard, covering the knuckles of the hand as well as the thumb and forefinger...
fencer
Fencing
Fencing, which is also known as modern fencing to distinguish it from historical fencing, is a family of combat sports using bladed weapons.Fencing is one of four sports which have been featured at every one of the modern Olympic Games...
.
Background
Jacobson is a daughter of David Jacobson, a member of the 1974 U.S. National fencing team in saber and also a former Yale fencer, and Tina Jacobson, who has also fenced competitively.She is the younger sister of fellow U.S. Olympic team fencer Sada Jacobson
Sada Jacobson
Sada Molly Jacobson is an American fencer. Her hometown is Dunwoody, GA. She is the 2008 Olympic Individual Sabre silver medalist and 2004 Olympic Individual Sabre bronze medalist. She has been training at Nellya fencers from a young age.-Background:Jacobson is a daughter of David Jacobson, a...
, born in February 1983. She also has a younger sister, Jackie, who was born February 26, 1989, who is also a world-class fencer.
Jacobson graduated from The Westminster Schools
The Westminster Schools
The Westminster Schools is a private school in Atlanta, Georgia, USA. Founded in 1951 and tracing its origins to 1878, Westminster has the largest endowment of any non-boarding school in the United States...
in Atlanta, Georgia
Atlanta, Georgia
Atlanta is the capital and most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia. According to the 2010 census, Atlanta's population is 420,003. Atlanta is the cultural and economic center of the Atlanta metropolitan area, which is home to 5,268,860 people and is the ninth largest metropolitan area in...
, in 2004.
She started attending Columbia University
Columbia University
Columbia University in the City of New York is a private, Ivy League university in Manhattan, New York City. Columbia is the oldest institution of higher learning in the state of New York, the fifth oldest in the United States, and one of the country's nine Colonial Colleges founded before the...
in the fall of 2004, where she is a psychology major.
World Championships, World Cups, Pan Am Games, and US & World Rankings
She emerged onto the world stage in 2001 at the age of 15, when she finished 7th in saber at the World Championships. She won a team gold medalGold medal
A gold medal is typically the medal awarded for highest achievement in a non-military field. Its name derives from the use of at least a fraction of gold in form of plating or alloying in its manufacture...
in sabre at the 2001 World Junior Team Championships.
She was ranked No. 2 in 2003 among female junior and senior U.S. saber fencers (her sister Sada was No. 1).
She won a bronze medal
Bronze medal
A bronze medal is a medal awarded to the third place finisher of contests such as the Olympic Games, Commonwealth Games, etc. The practice of awarding bronze third place medals began at the 1904 Olympic Games in St...
at the 2003 Pan American Games
Pan American Games
The Pan-American or Pan American Games are a major event in the Americas featuring summer and formerly winter sports, in which thousands of athletes participate in a variety of competitions. The Pan American Games are the second largest multi-sport event after the Summer Olympics...
.
She won a bronze medal at a World Cup in Havana, Cuba, in June 2003, and a silver medal at a World Cup in Budapest, Hungary, in March 2004.
She then captured two gold medal
Gold medal
A gold medal is typically the medal awarded for highest achievement in a non-military field. Its name derives from the use of at least a fraction of gold in form of plating or alloying in its manufacture...
s at the 2004 Junior World Championships, becoming World Junior Champion, in both the team and individual events.
Olympics
Like her older sister, Sada JacobsonSada Jacobson
Sada Molly Jacobson is an American fencer. Her hometown is Dunwoody, GA. She is the 2008 Olympic Individual Sabre silver medalist and 2004 Olympic Individual Sabre bronze medalist. She has been training at Nellya fencers from a young age.-Background:Jacobson is a daughter of David Jacobson, a...
, Emily competed for the U.S. at the 2004 Olympics in the inaugural women's saber event in Athens—a feat that she views as her greatest achievement in fencing at that point in time. She reached the Round of 16, where she lost to Leonore Perrus of France, 15-13.
College career
At Columbia University, Jacobson has been a 2-time first team All American.After high school she ranked 2nd nationally, and 11th in the world.
Jacobson was the 2005 NCAA Champion. In 2004–05 she was 27–3 overall.
She ranked 3rd in the nation, and 8th in the world, in sabre during the season.
She won the women’s sabre title at the North American Cup, and secured the silver medal
Silver medal
A silver medal is a medal awarded to the second place finisher of contests such as the Olympic Games, Commonwealth Games, and contests with similar formats....
in sabre at the IFA
Intercollegiate Fencing Association
The Intercollegiate Fencing Association is the oldest collegiate fencing conference in the United States. It is affiliated with the Eastern College Athletic Conference .-Membership:The IFA has 12 members...
Championships.
She finished 2nd in the nation at sabre at the 2006 NCAA Championships, winning 19 of 23 bouts. She was 31–2 during the 2005–06 season.
Jacobson placed 8th at the 2006 North American Cup. She captured the silver medal at the 2006 Regionals, to finish 1st overall at sabre.
Award
Jacobson, who is Jewish, received the 2002 Jules D. Mazor Award, as the Jewish High School Athlete of the year, from the Jewish Sports Hall of Fame (in Commack, New YorkCommack, New York
Commack is a census-designated place that roughly corresponds to the hamlet by the same name in the towns of Huntington and Smithtown in Suffolk County, New York, United States on Long Island...
).
Miscellaneous
- Jacobson and her sister Sada have been compared to the Williams sistersWilliams sistersThe Williams sisters are two professional American tennis players: Venus Williams born 1980, seven-time Grand Slam title winner , and Serena Williams born 1981, thirteen-time Grand Slam title winner , both of whom were coached from an early age by their father Richard Williams...
(Venus and Serena), who have dominated women's professional tennis.
- The Jacobson sisters haven't faced each other since a junior World Cup that Emily won in Budapest, Hungary, in January 2002.
- She trains and competes with the Nellya Fencers local club team in Forest Park, GeorgiaForest Park, GeorgiaForest Park is a city in Clayton County, Georgia, United States. It is located approximately nine miles south of Atlanta and is part of the Atlanta–Sandy Springs–Marietta Metropolitan Statistical Area...
.
- Her club coach, Arkady Burdan, is a former Soviet fencer and coach who left the Soviet UnionSoviet UnionThe Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
in 1989 as a Jewish refugee, and eventually settled in Atlanta.
- She trains: “Four hours a day, six days a week, 52 weeks a year. Fortunately or unfortunately, there is no off-season in this sport,” said her father.
- Her image is included in a new 5766 calendar, Jewish + Female = Athlete: Portraits of Strength from around the World, produced by the Hadassah-Brandeis Institute, celebrating 14 current stars and 13 legends from the past in a tribute to the accomplishments of Jewish women in sport.