Gerek Lin Meinhardt is a foil

Foil (fencing)

A foil is a type of weapon used in fencing. It is the most common weapon in terms of usage in competition, and is usually the choice for elementary classes for fencing in general.- Components:...

 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...

 from San Francisco, California

San Francisco, California

San Francisco , officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the financial, cultural, and transportation center of the San Francisco Bay Area, a region of 7.15 million people which includes San Jose and Oakland...

, United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

.

Meinhardt was one of two children born to Kurt and Jane Meinhardt. He attended Lick-Wilmerding High School

Lick-Wilmerding High School

Lick-Wilmerding High School is a college-preparatory high school located in San Francisco, California, United States.-History:Lick-Wilmerding was founded on September 21, 1874 as the California School of Mechanical Arts by a trust by James Lick. George Merrill was hired to manage the school as the...

 in San Francisco for two years and completed high school in a home schooling program. He currently attends the University of Notre Dame

University of Notre Dame

The University of Notre Dame du Lac is a Catholic research university located in Notre Dame, an unincorporated community north of the city of South Bend, in St. Joseph County, Indiana, United States...

, majoring in business and finance, and is a member of the school's fencing team.

Introduced to the sport at age 9 through a program run by Olympic fencer Greg Massialas

Greg Massialas

Greg Massialas is an American fencer. He competed in the foil events at the 1984 and 1988 Summer Olympics.-References:...

, Meinhardt began participating in national fencing competitions a year later. At age 16 he became the youngest men's national foil champion when he won the tournament at the 2007 U.S. Fencing National Championships.

Ranked 16th in the world at the time, he participated in the 2008 Summer Olympics

2008 Summer Olympics

The 2008 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XXIX Olympiad, was a major international multi-sport event that took place in Beijing, China, from August 8 to August 24, 2008. A total of 11,028 athletes from 204 National Olympic Committees competed in 28 sports and 302 events...

 in Beijing

Beijing

Beijing , also known as Peking , is the capital of the People's Republic of China and one of the most populous cities in the world, with a population of 19,612,368 as of 2010. The city is the country's political, cultural, and educational center, and home to the headquarters for most of China's...

 as a member of the United States fencing team

Fencing at the 2008 Summer Olympics

Fencing competitions at the Beijing 2008 Summer Olympics were held from August 9 to August 17 at the Olympic Green Convention Center.-Medal table:-Men's events:-Women's events:- Events :10 sets of medals were awarded in the following events:...

. He was the youngest fencer in Beijing and the youngest U.S. Olympic fencer of all time.

At the 2010 World Fencing Championships

2010 World Fencing Championships

The 2010 World Fencing Championships were held at the Grand Palais in Paris, France 4–13 November.-Medal table:-Men's events:-Women's events:- Participating nations :...

 in Paris, he won a bronze medal in the men's foil

Men's foil at the 2010 World Fencing Championships

The Men's foil event took place on November 7, 2010 at Grand Palais.-Foil individual:...

 event, tying with Yuki Ota

Yuki Ota

is a Japanese foil fencer.He started his career as a fencer in his junior high school years, influenced by his father, who had been also a fencer. He won the national junior high school championships. In Heian High School, he got third consecutive championship victories in national high school...

of Japan.