Penn men’s fencing freshman epeeist Simon Lioznyansky adopts a winning mentality on the road to the Los Angeles Olympics in 2028. It's that mentality that Lioznyansky, second in the world in U20 rankings, attributes his success to.
But it hasn't always been smooth sailing for the freshman phenom.
“I had a rough patch when I was about 15 or 16,” Lioznyansky said, “I was not doing as well, but I decided to stick with it, and then started getting really good results when I was 17, 18.”
What made the change? His mindset.
“It just kind of clicked at one tournament [in] 2024,” he said said, “My mentality at a tournament differed… [I decided] the tournament result was irrelevant as long as I was happy with my fencing. ... My fencing was improving every competition because I was just focusing on myself, knowing how I needed to be fencing.”
Fencing is a mental game, rightfully earning the nickname of “physical chess.” But this mental element is what Lioznyansky likes most about the sport. Moves and strategies have to be thought out ahead of time, and problems have to be addressed as they come along. For Lioznyansky, the strategy is what appeals to him the most.
“I may look like I'm frustrated when I'm losing a touch, but then I [also] like to work around the problem and try to figure out why I just got hit,” he said, “How should I be improving that touch or what can I do to actually hit them when they're doing this? So I feel like it's very mental. I enjoy that about fencing a lot.”
While fencing relies largely on individual decision making and performances, Lioznyansky also depends on his teammates to stay calm and focused during tournaments. The tight-knight community meant a strong mutual sense of trust between the team. To Lioznyansky, it also meant a shared sense of victory: if someone's individual performance wasn't strong, it was still possible to propel the team to a win.
Lioznyansky's love for fencing keeps him practicing every day, and despite the intense time commitment—nearly all of his competitions this year require traveling internationally—it is not Lioznyansky's only passion. An avid singer, he was a member of an acappella group this semester and has released an EP under his stage name, Simon Val.
His passion for the stage extends to acting as well: he has acted in multiple movies and short films, doing high school online to make time for shoots as well as his fencing schedule. Balancing these commitments on top of schoolwork is a tall order, but Lioznyansky's fencing mentality has helped.
“[Fencing] can definitely help with decision-making in real life,” Lioznyansky said, “I just kind of live with the fact that, you know, sometimes in fencing, I do the wrong action, I get hit, and it happens, and you just keep going with it. You adjust and you fix it for next time.”
As his competitions get more important as the year goes on, Lioznyansky's confidence in his training and mentality means he has high hopes for both himself and the team this year.
“I personally want to try to win both individually at Ivy's and NCAA championships,” Lioznyansky said, “[and] hopefully as a team as well.”
On the international side, Lioznyansky recently competed in the Junior World Cup in Hong Kong and plans to compete in the Senior World Cup in Vancouver later this week. Both are in preparation for the senior world championships this summer, and eventually, the 2028 Olympics. Currently ranked fifth, if Lioznyansky is ranked in the top four for U.S. seniors in 2028, he can compete in the Los Angeles Olympics.
With his mentality of finding the joy in making mistakes and learning, of savoring the moment, he just might get there.
