Archer Nicholas D’Amour of St. Thomas faced off against Fumiya Saito of Japan in the men’s individual foil 1/32 elimination round Tuesday at the 2024 Paris Games.
In a close match, Saito prevailed over D’Amour 6-4 to advance to the 1/16 elimination round. D’Amour, who also competed in the 2020 Tokyo Games, qualified for his second Olympic berth at the Americas Continental Qualifiers in Medellin, Colombia, in April.
D’Amour, 22, is joined at the Olympics by fellow Virgin Islands athletes Eduardo Garcia in the marathon; Kruz Schembri in fencing; and Max Wilson and Natalia Kuipers in swimming.
Garcia, 31, whose father hails from St. Croix, will be the last Virgin Islands athlete to compete when he laces up for the men’s marathon on Aug. 10, which will start at 2 a.m. Atlantic time. He qualified for the Games at the half marathon in Istanbul, Turkey, in April, with a time of 1:03.53 — a Virgin Islands record — that earned him a “universality place.”
Schembri, 17, of St. Croix became the first fencer from the territory to compete in the Olympics in 40 years when he faced off against Blake Broszus of Canada on Monday in the men’s individual foil. The final score was 15-8 for Broszus.
Kuipers, 22, finished fourth in her heat and 20th overall at the women’s 400m freestyle swim on Saturday with a time of 4:33.46. While she didn’t make it to the finals, Kuipers bested her time from the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, where she finished in 4:39.42.
Meanwhile, Wilson finished first in his heat in the men’s 100m backstroke on Sunday with a time of 54.49. While it wasn’t enough to advance to the semifinals, with Wilson ultimately ranking 27th out of a field of 46, the 20-year-old bested his qualifying time of 56.65 at the 2023 World Championships in Fukuoka, Japan.
Viewers here at home can follow the athletes on NBC, and at the official site of the Paris Games. The closing ceremony will take place starting at 3 p.m. Atlantic time on Aug. 11, when the torch will be passed to Los Angeles, host of the 2028 Olympics.
