Yury Gelman

				Position: Head Coach

Yury Gelman is entering his seventh season at the helm of the St. John’s men’s and women’s fencing program.

Since his arrival, Gelman has helped develop the Red Storm into one of the top national powers, competing for the Intercollegiate Fencing Association title and the NCAA Championship annually. The team reached the pinnacle last season, winning both the IFA and NCAA Championship, giving St. John’s its second national title (joining the 1996 men’s soccer team).

In his six years at St. John’s, Gelman has led the team to top-five finishes at both the NCAA and the IFA Championships each time. During the last two seasons, Gelman’s squads finished second at thLast year, he guided the program to a tie for second, the best under his direction, and its best finish since the 1994-95 season.

The team has finished second at the NCAA Championships (2000) and third on two occasions (1996 and 1997) and posted two fourth-place showings at the IFA Championships (1996 and 1997).

His men’s teams have posted a 72-14 record in six seasons, including a perfect 14-0 regular season mark during the 1999-2000 school year, and a 13-2 mark last year. The women’s teams have been just as competitive as Gelman has guided that team to a 55-37 record, including last season’s 13-2 mark, its best-ever under Gelman.

Gelman brings a vast knowledge of fencing, as well as the necessary experience at the upper echelon of international competition that he can empart to his student-athletes. A professional coach for over 20 years, he has prepared many members of the United States junior and senior teams. This past summer, he served as the coach for the United States Olympic Fencing team, tutoring Akhi Spencer-El, one of the top-ranked fencers in the US in the sabre who has won the last two national championships. In addition, two of his student-athletes, Keeth Smart and Arlene Stevens, qualified for the United States Olympic fencing team. Another of his pupils, Ivan Lee, who fences for St. John’s, is the owner of two bronze medals, one from cadet and another from junior world championships. On top of all this, Gelman is the United States men’s sabre national coach.

Gelman’s coaching experience began at the Kiev Physical Education College, where he was coach from 1977-80. He then moved on to become the Ukranian Fencing Team coach from 1982-91, as well as the fencing coach for the former USSR from 1985-91.

A 1977 graduate of the Kiev Physical Education College with a degree in physical education and coaching of fencing, he earned his master’s degree in physical education in 1981 from Kiev.

He is currently a fencing coach at the New York Fencer’s Club in upper Manhattan. He lives in Brooklyn.