In every sport there is the post-season ritual of either announcing a retirement or announcing your goals for the next season. In college revenue sports, athletes will talk about whether they’re returning for another year of school or going pro. In the professional sports there will be post-season discussions on retirement and free agency. Usually in the fencing world, those announcements coincide with the end of the Olympic Games.
US Fencing now has another athlete looking towards their post-athletic career as Tim Morehouse has announced that he will not be fencing for Team USA in the upcoming season. In his announcement Tim points to his new work with his marriage and launch of Fencing in the Schools as factors in his decision to spend the rest of this season off of the competitive circuit. He leaves the door open for a return to fencing in time for the Rio 2016 Games.
Other fencers have come out of a year or more off and made successful Olympic runs. Soren Thompson did just that when he returned to fencing and qualified for the 2012 Olympic Games for the USA in Men’s Epee.
Tim “ends” this fencing season as the #2 ranked US fencer and 19th in FIE world rankings. He finished in 8th place at the 2012 Olympic Games and his highest end of season world ranking was 13th in the 2008-2009 season (based on www.fie.ch data).
Here is the text that Tim posted to Facebook today:
I just wanted to let you all know that I’ve decided to take this season off from competing and have informed USA Fencing that I won’t be competing in Chicago or at the World Championships this year. I want to thank them for their patience as I’ve wrestled with this decision.
I’m proud that even just fencing in a few competitions this year, I will likely finish the season ranked #2 in the USA and would have qualified for my 10th national team.
Since the London Games, it has truly been an exciting time for me. I got married in December, launched Fencing in the Schools (we now have 1500+ kids fencing in Harlem with 10,000+ across 6 states on the way next year!) and I’ve also been working on-air for E! News as a special correspondent.
I feel that Fencing in the Schools can have a profound impact on our sport for the long-term and so I want to make sure I can dedicate the right level of time and energy to see it be successful. On the E! News front, I want to make sure I’m set up for my long-term life and career and being able to work for them is truly a special opportunity.
I’m not using the “R” word for now, just the “S” word. i.e. Sabbatical and have not ruled out a Rio2016 run, but for now I need to take the time to dedicate to the long-term of my life and the impact I can have on hopefully hundreds of thousands of children with FITS.
I love the sport of fencing and am so thankful that I’ve had it in my life and I hope to bring the sports benefits to children around the country to leave a lasting legacy. I want to thank you all for your support in my fencing career and all my other endeavors.
All the best,
Tim Morehouse
US Olympic Silver Medalist
Founder of Fencing in the Schools
E! News Special Correspondent